Bound   by 
.GRAHAM  &  SON, 
101  &  103  Gravier  St., 
NEW  ORLEANS. 


^SJSk 


i? 

& 

to 

o 

& 

o 

O 

•c* 

En 

*S5 

O 

£i 

<** 

»—< 

& 

« 

^ 

PM 

s 
i 


■^ 


c^k 


(N 

O 

u 

o\ 

V 

1 

CO 

ti 

T— 1 

?H 

CO 

ti 

VD 

T— 1 

£ 

Hh 

t 

o 

vo  2  <*-• 
<N  O 

P-.        ' 

•  PQ   C 
O 

CO       "*iH 

r-   ?h  +-» 

c^  e  e 
x  <a  o 

CQ  P^  tL. 


^ 


m 


FORMATION 


OF 


CHARACTER. 

TWELVE    LECTURES 

Delivered    m    the    First    Presbyterian 
Church,  NewOrleans,   La., 

BY 

B.  M.  PALMER,  Pastor. 


E.    S.     UPTON, 

Religious   Book  Depository, 
NEW  ORLEANS. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of    Congress,    in   the  year 
1889,    by 

E.  S.   UPTON, 

In  the  office  of  the   Librarian   of    Congress,  at  Wash- 
ington. 


CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  I. 

Youth,  the  Formative  Period _ 7 

LECTURE  II. 

Elements  Which  Enter  into  Character 25 

LECTURE  III. 

Influence  of  Piety  in  Forming  Character 45 

LECTURE  IV. 

Obligation  Arising   From  a  Pious  Ancestry 63 

LECTURE  V. 

Obligation  Arising  From  the  Trusts  of  Life..  81 

LECTURE  VI. 

Obstacles  to  Piety  in  the  Young 95 

LECTURE  VII. 

Choice  of  Amusements _ 1 13 


IV.  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE  VIII. 
Sin  of  Profane  Swearing .133 

LECTURE  IX. 
Sin  of  Sabbath- Breaking.. 149 

LECTURE  X. 

Intemperance   and  Sins  of  the  Flesh. 167 

LECTURE  XI. 

The    Sin  of  Gambling 183 

LECTURE    XT  I. 
The  Scriptures,   Our   Rule -.203 


NOTE  TO  THE  READER. 

These  Lectures  were  delivered  in  response  to  a 
request  signed  by  twenty-five  of  the  young  men  of 
the  Author's  church.  In  a  brief  space  of  time  a 
stenographic  report  of  the  same  was  placed  in  his 
hands,  with  request  for  revision,  in  order  to  publica- 
tion. The  whole  movement  was  a  complete  surprise; 
and  without  stopping  to  inquire  whether  they  are 
intrinsically  worthy  of  being  embalmed  in  print,  they 
are  herewith  surrendered  as  a  testimony  of  affection 
for  a  class  of  persons  whom  every  Pastor  desires  to 
bring  into  the  fold  of  Christ.  With  far  greater  depth 
and  tenderness  of  feeling  than  when  first  uttered  with 
the  living  voice,  they  ?re  now  reproduced  in  perma- 
nent form  ;  that  those  specially  addressed  "may  be 
able  after  his  decease  to  have  these  things  always  in 
remembrance."  The  Author. 


ERRATA. 

Page  13,  line  20,  read  "years"  for  "  youth." 
Page  15,  line  10,  read  "remain"  for  "  remains." 
Page  27,  line  26,  read   "crisis"   for  "crises." 
Page  108,  line  12,  read  "restraints"  for   "restrains." 
Page  114,  line  27,  read  "matron  "  for  "maiden." 
Page  137,  line  25,  read   "of"   for  "or." 
Page  184,  line  2,  read  "providence"  for  "province." 
Page  196,  line  7,  and  page  197,  line  17,  read  "  covet- 
ousness"  for  "  covetuousness." 


LECTURE  I. 
YOUTH,  THE  FORMATIVE  PERIOD. 


Ecclesiastes  xii.  I — " Remember  now  thy  Creator  in 

the  days  of  thy  youth  ;  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the 
years  draw  nigh,  when  thoti  shall  say,  I  have  no  pleasure 
in  them.'1'' 

A  few  weeks  since  a  communication  was 
addressed  to  me,  signed  by  twenty-five 
names  of  young  men  of  this  congregation, 
asking,  if  in  accordance  with  my  own  views, 
for  a  course  of  Lectures  to  be  delivered 
specially  to  them ;  and  I  am  particularly 
gratified  to  find  so  many  of  this  class  sitting 
before  me  to-night.  In  responding  to  this 
call,  I  simply  represent  the  deep  interest 
felt  by  the  Church  and  the  world  in  those 
who  are  soon  to  be  the  chief  actors  in  life, 
and  by  whom  history  is  to  be  made. 

It  is  an  interest  due  to  a  variety  of 
causes.  Before  all  others,  is  the  beauty 
of  youth  ;  not  intrinsically  greater  than  at- 
taches to  other  periods  of  life,  but  vastly 
more  fascinating.  Like  the  natural  seasons, 
all  ages  possess  their  peculiar  charm. 
First,    Winter    comes    with   his   hoar-frost 


8  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  snow,  hanging  up  everywhere  his 
icicles  like  resplendent  diamonds  shining 
in  the  sun  ;  and  it  is  as  though  a  magician 
had  touched  the  earth  with  his  wand,  and 
turned  it  into  a  palace  of  crystal  splendors. 
Next,  Spring  comes  with  its  regenerating 
life,  opening  the  bud  upon  tree  and  flower, 
waking  the  birds  to  their  forgotten  song, 
and  clothing  the  earth  again  with  her 
virgin  charms.  Then  Summer  with  her 
golden  fruits,  the  serials  hanging  their 
heads  as  if  in  the  obeisance  of  worship,  and 
the  wind  whistling  softly  through  the  corn 
the  joy  of  the  husbandman,  until  the  earth 
laughs  in  the  abundance  of  her  stores. 
Finally,  Autumn  browns  the  fields,  and 
with  artistic  skill  touches  the  forests  with 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  As  the  shifting 
panorama  passes  before  our  view,  and  we 
gaze  upon  Nature's  changing  splendor,  we 
cannot  but  exclaim  :  ' '  God  hath  made 
everything  beautiful  in   His  time  !  " 

Just  so  it  is  with  the  great  sections  of 
human  life.  What  moonlight  serenity 
crowns  a  godly  old  age,  which  through 
blistering  days  has  toiled  for  God  and  the 
race  ;  and  now  with  its  work  finished,  sits 
with  folded  arms  upon  the  edge  of  the  cold 
river,  waiting  the  summons  beckoning  it  to 
"the  shining  shore  "?     Or,  what   is  there 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  9 

of  moral  grandeur  equal  to  the  massive 
strength  which  you  find  in  middle  life  ; 
when  virtuous  men,  like  great  cliffs  front- 
ing the  roaring  sea,  in  the  robustness  of 
their  vigor  bear  up  under  responsibilities 
which  might  seem  to  crush  an  angel  ?  But 
youthful  beauty  has  a  glow  upon  its 
cheek,  which  fastens  upon  the  imagination  ; 
not  simply  for  the  promise  which  may  be  in 
it,  but  for  the  traits  which  are  peculiarly  its 
own.  Who  does  not  admire  its  freshness 
of  feeling,  before  it  has  been  cankered  by 
disappointment  and  care,  resting  upon  it 
like  the  dew  of  an  Autumnal  morning  ? 
Who  does  not  rejoice  in  the  frankness  and 
confidingness  of  youth  responding  gene- 
rously to  every  overture  of  kindness,  open- 
ing the  door  of  its  heart  to  every  challenge 
of  love,  and  pouring  out  its  own  affections 
without  the  stint  of  measurement  ?  When 
these  characteristics  are  brought  together 
in  their  frequent  assemblage,  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  old  sometimes  bow  before 
the  young  in  the  homage  of  a  true  rever- 
ence. 

This  brings  me  to  the  melancholy  inter- 
est felt  in  the  young  which  you,  in  the  dawn 
of  life,  cannot  possibly  understand  ;  nor  shall 
ever  appreciate,  until  you  shall  occupy  our 
positions  and  look  back  upon  the  sufferings 


IO      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

of  the  past.  Life  is  to  many  clouded  with 
ill-success  and  failure,  even  to  the  end. 
Seeking  to  escape  from  this  gloom,  men  go 
back  in  memory  to  the  dreamland  of  their 
youth  ;  and  gaze  upon  those  early  pictures 
which  Hope,  with  her  delicate  pencil, 
threw  upon  the  canvas,  and  which  now 
only  mock  them  with  their  deceitful  witch- 
ery. As  an  author  revises  his  book  in  the 
light  of  the  criticisms  upon  it,  bringing  it 
out  in  greater  perfection  than  at  first ;  so 
the  vain  wish  springs  up  in  the  heart,  that 
it  were  possible  to  commence  at  the  begin- 
ning and  to  put  out  a  second  and  improved 
edition  of  one's  life.  This  may  not  be 
allowed  ;  we  make  but  one  journey  through 
time,  and  it  must  close  with  whatever  of 
success  or  failure  may  have  attended  it. 
Young  men,  it  is  with  an  unspeakable 
pathos  those  who  are  departing  from  life 
with  a  broken  heart  turn  their  gaze  upon 
you  who  are  springing  up  around  them, 
and  seek  with  plaintive  advice  to  guard  you 
from  the  mistakes  which  have  made  their 
career  a  sad  miscarriage.  The  tremor  of  a 
tear  is  felt  in  every  voice  which  speaks 
from  a  disappointed  life. 

Beyond  all  this,  solicitude  must  be  felt 
for  the  young,  who  are  always  the  hope  of 
the   Church   and   the  world.      I  have,  per- 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  I  I 

haps,  flattered  you  in  painting  the  loveli- 
ness of  your  early  morning  hour  ;  let  me 
put  beside  it,  in  the  glare  of  contrast,  the 
strength  of  your  coming  noon.  Soldiers 
tell  us  of  "the  joy  of  battle"  when  the 
preliminary  fear  has  vanished  in  the  first 
clash  of  arms.  Even  so,  there  is  a  proud 
enthusiasm  in  bearing  the  responsibilities 
of  an  honorable  career ;  felt  most  when 
duty  presses  heaviest,  and  in  conscious 
weakness  we  reel  beneath  the  burden ; 
then  it  is  that  weakness  becomes  strength, 
and  the  hero  asks  to  live  until  his  task  is 
finished.  Some  of  these  are  ungirding 
themselves  of  solemn  trusts  with  which 
they  were  charged  ;  others  are  still  in  the 
sweat  and  dust  of  the  arena  ;  but  all  look 
behind  them  to  see  if  the  race  that  is  coming 
after,  is  a  royal  race — stalwart  champions 
for  the  true  and  the  right — who  with  faces 
as  a  flint,  like  those  iron  beaks  which  cut 
their  way  through  the  ice  of  the  Northern 
rivers,  make  opposition  itself  tributary  to 
brilliant  achievements.  A  strong  man  is 
willing  to  die,  if  he  leaves  a  son  equal  to 
himself.  But  if  that  son  be  a  man  of 
brighter  nature,  of  larger  culture,  of  nobler 
aspirations,  he  will  rejoice  to  divest  himself 
of  his  own  honors,  and  cast  them  as  a  priestly 
robe  upon  him  who  bears  his  name  and 
office. 


12  FORMATION.  OF    CHARACTER. 

Such,  my  young  friends,  are  the  grounds 
of  that  almost  paternal  affection  universally 
felt  for  those  who  are  just  buckling  on  the 
armor  of  duty.  We  cannot  look  upon  the 
flush  of  hope  which  brightens  your  cheek, 
without  a  prayer  for  your  welfare  ;  that 
Heaven  may  guide  you  by  a  staighter 
path  than  ours,  freer  from  difficulties, 
and  leading  to  nobler  rewards.  In  the  re- 
mainder of  this  introductory  Lecture,  I 
will  simply  impress  upon  you  the  import- 
ance OF  THIS  FORMING  PERIOD  OF  YOUR 
EARTHLY  CAREER. 

I.  Consider,  then,  that  it  embraces  not  less 
than  oiie-tliird  of  all  the  years  allotted  to  man 
upon  earth,  Common-places  upon  the 
shortness  of  life  make  but  feeble  impres- 
sion ;  but  here  is  a  concrete  illustration 
which  takes  hold  of  the  conscience  and  the 
heart — one-third  of  life  spent  in  simply 
getting  ready  to  live.  Linger  over  the 
fact,  until  its  portentous  import  has  sub- 
dued you  with  its  shadow — that  death  has 
advanced  one-third  of  the  way,  at  the  very 
moment  when  almost  in  mockery  you  are 
whispering  to  yourself,  "Now  I  am  going 
to  begin  life;"  yes,  beginning  life  when  the 
candle  has  already  burnt  down  one-third  to 
the  socket !  The  arrangement  is  not  arbi- 
trary, that  you  must  ascend  by  these  twenty 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  I  3 

steps  to  incipient  manhood  ;  reaching  then 
only  the  first  landing-place — with  five  steps 
more,  exceedingly  narrow  and  steep,  before 
you  are  honored  with  the  trusts  of  which 
death  alone  can  disrobe  you.  Nature  her- 
self marks  off  this  period  of  human  growth, 
by  her  law  of  corporeal  and  intellectual 
maturity.  The  few  instances  of  precocious 
development  are  but  feeble  exceptions  to 
the  rule.  Even  the  differences  in  climate, 
which  may  lengthen  or  abridge  the  period 
of  growth,  equally  determine  the  period  of 
decay ;  so  that  over  the  globe  the  same 
proportion  is  preserved  between  the  parts 
of  human  life. 

Taking  up  the  thought  in  this  practical 
form,  let  us  observe  further  into  how  small 
a  portion  of  the  whole  our  real  and  effective 
life  on  earth  is  condensed.  "  The  days  of 
our  youth  are  threescore  years  and  ten," 
saith  the  Scripture  ;  but  how  soon  the  noon 
of  our  life  is  fled,  when  the  energies  flag 
and  shrink  from  new  enterprises  ?  And 
worse  than  both,  how  soon  the  sense  of 
isolation  creeps  upon  us  ?  Those  who  had 
walked  with  us  by  the  way  in  the  various 
relationships  of  society,  have  somehow 
dropped  through  the  broken  planks  of  the 
bridge  into  the  seething  waters  beneath  ; 
and  in  the  time  of  our  age  we  find  ourselves 


14  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

more  alone  than  when  we  nestled  with 
brothers  and  sisters  in  the  parental  home. 
The  picture  may  seem  to  you  too  deeply 
shaded,  possibly  sending  a  shiver  through 
your  frame  ;  yet  I  ask  you  to  look  at  it 
with  the  solemnity  that  it  deserves — this 
division  of  life  into  its  thirds :  the  first 
third  spent  in  learning  how  to  live  ;  the 
last  third  in  learning  how  to  die  ;  and  the 
intervening  space,  protracted  perhaps  be- 
yond the  limit  of  either  extreme,  into  whose 
narrow  compass  all  that  is  our  efficient  life 
is  actually  compressed. 

I  have  said  that  Nature's  decree  assign- 
ing so  long  a  period  for  human  growth,  is  not 
arbitrary  ;  let  it  rather  be  proclaimed  as  the 
arrangement  of  a  most  wise  and  gracious 
Providence.  Man  is  altogether  too  precious 
a  thing  to  grow  up  as  a  weed.  The  pro- 
phet's gourd  which  grew  in  a  night,  perished 
in  a  night ;  but  man  was  made  to  endure. 
Within  his  mortal  frame  God  has  imprisoned 
an  immortal  spirit  ;  and  the  life  of  this  is 
measured,  as  the  hands  move  upon  the 
face  of  that  clock  which  hangs  upon  the 
walls  of  Eternity.  It  is  for  this  we  take  so 
long  to  grow  ;  and  if  it  should  seem  to  you 
that  one-third  of  mortal  life  is  too  much  to 
spend  in  just  preparing  to  live,  remember 
that    time   has   no   measure  but   Eternity ; 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  I  5 

and  that  only  in  its  disciplinary  and  educa- 
tional relation  to  this,  has  it  any  signifi- 
cance at  all.  Twenty  years  is  not  too  long 
to  form  habits  which  are  to  be  to  us  a 
second  nature ;  or  to  establish  principles 
which  are  to  be  the  law  of  our  activity  for- 
ever ;  or  to  mould  a  character  which,  by 
its  own  development,  shall  crystallize  into 
a  form  of  beauty  to'  endure  while  the 
heavens  remains.  How  it  contradicts  the- 
logic  both  of  reason  and  of  conscience  to 
misappropriate,  in  idleness  or  folly,  any 
portion  of  youth  so  necessary  to  the  after- 
life ;  and  which,  when  gone,  leaves  a  record 
we  must  surely  face  at  the  judgment- 
bar  ! 

II.  Consider  that,  within  tins  period,  a 
character  of  some  sort  must  be  formed.  It 
is  not  submitted  to  our  discretion  whether 
this  shall  or  shall  not  be.  We  may  use  or 
we  may  waste  our  opportunities,  the  pro- 
cess of  development  goes  on  just  the  same. 
No  protest  of  the  reason,  or  of  the  will,  can 
arrest  the  operation  of  the  law  which  de- 
fines the  conditions  under  which  character 
must  shoot  up  into  its  perfect  crystal. 
There  can  be  no  greater  fallacy  than  to 
suppose  anything  negative  in  its  influence 
upon  the    young.       At    no    time    in     our 


1 6  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

earthly  history  do  our  acts  stand  apart 
from  the  dispositions  from  which  they 
spring  ;  least  of  all  is  this  possible  during 
youth,  the  first  stage  of  that  continuous 
education  where  everything  enters  into  the 
substance  of  our  being.  Every  sight,  every 
sound,  every  thought,  every  deed,  goes 
right  into  character  ;  everything  is  positive, 
nothing  negative  in  the  discipline  of  life. 
Through  every  moment  of  wakeful  time, 
character  is  building  by  accretions  infinitely 
more  minute  than  those  by  which  the  coral 
insects  build  up  the  islands  of  the  sea. 
Just  as  the  plant  absorbs  color  from  the 
light,  drinks  through  its  leaves  the  moisture 
of  the  air,  or  draws  up  by  its  delicate  fibres 
the  fatness  of  the  soil,  so  in  youth  we  ab- 
sorb the  influences  around  us  which  grow 
into  the  entire  frame  of  our  future 
being. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  too,  that  char- 
acter, thus  formed,  abides  with  us  an 
enduring  possession.  During  this  mortal 
state  it  may  be  modified,  both  for  good 
and  evil  ;  it  may  be  improved  ;  it  may 
deteriorate ;  in  a  religious  aspect,  it  may 
even  be  transformed.  Yet,  even  in  the 
sphere  of  grace,  the  natural  traits,  upon 
which  all  individuality  is  grounded,  will 
come  to  the  surface — only  in  the  Christian, 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  \J 

redeemed,  controlled,  beautified  by  Divine 
love.  The  fact  in  this  connection  pressing 
most  upon  my  young  friends  to-night,  is 
that  the  basis  of  this  lasting  structure  is 
laid  in  our  early  years.  The  adage  that 
"  the  boy  is  father  of  the  man,"  is  illus- 
trated by  a  thousand  examples.  The  chil- 
dren of  genius  almost  universally  manifest 
in  childhood  the  tastes  by  which  they  are 
distinguished  in  their  prime.  When  we 
pass  from  a  state  of  trial  to  one  of  recom- 
pense, even  death,  which  does  not  arrest 
the  continuity  of  our  being,  makes  no  sub- 
stantive change  m  that  character  upon 
which  the  final  judgment  has  stamped  the 
seal  of  destiny.  Under  this  view,  how  un- 
speakably important  this  period  of  youth  ; 
when  life  is  running  into  its  mould  not  only 
for  the  future  that  is  near,  but  for  that  in 
the  great  hereafter  !  It  has  been  truly 
said  : 

"  Sow  an  act  and  you  reap  a  habit  ; 
Sow  a  habit  and  you  reap  a  character  ; 
Sow  a  character  and  you  reap  a  destiny." 

III.  In  youth  the  appetites  and  passions 
come  to  the  front,  and  are  most  difficult  of 
control.  It  is  then  the  conflict  opens  be- 
tween the  animal  and  spiritual  elements  of 
our  nature  ;  and  it  is  largely  determined 
which   of  the  two  shall  obtain  the  ascend- 


1 8  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

ency  for  life.  The  peril  is  far  from  being 
slight.  First  of  all,  there  is  a  superb  en- 
joyment in  the  earliest  exercise  of  one's 
own  will,  free  from  the  authority  which 
has  hitherto  constrained  it.  How  easily 
this  runs  into  wilfulness,  in  the  impatient 
assertion  of  its  own  independence  !  Like 
the  "  wild  ass  which  snuffeth  up  the  wind 
at  his  pleasure,"  the  lawless  youth  swings 
loose  from  all  restraint,  and  solicits  the 
temptation  under  which  it  is  his  doom  to 
succumb.  Moreover,  the  pleasures  of 
sense  are  the  more  enticing  from  their 
novelty  and  freshness ;  appealing  to  the 
imagination,  which  throws  around  them  a 
veil  of  illusion  effectually  concealing  "the 
dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness " 
lying  within.  The  fatal  poison  is  already 
introduced  into  the  blood,  with  its  raving 
delirium,  before  the  unhappy  victim  is 
aroused  to  the  first  suspicion  of  danger. 
Add  to  all  this  that  the  wisdom,  which  is 
to  be  man's  guide  through  life,  has  not 
fully  gained  her  seat  of  empire  in  the  soul ; 
nor  has  experience  taught  her  to  put  the 
curb  upon  these  fiery  appetites,  through 
anticipation  of  that  eternal  remorse,  the 
sure  avenger  of  dissipation  and  vice. 

If,  then,    in   this  forming   period  of  life 
our  passions  and  appetites  are  at  the  strong- 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  1 9 

est,  and  our  experience  and  knowledge  are 
at  the  weakest,  how  important  is  the  shield 
of  parental  control  which  guards  us  through 
the  long  years  of  immaturity  and  growth  ; 
and  how  necessary  it  is  that  we  should  not 
be  surrendered  to  our  own  discretion,  until 
principles  shall  be  acquired  which  shall 
keep  us  from  being  swept  away  by  the 
temptations  of  life  and  buried  in  the  abyss 
beneath  ! 

IV.  Finally.  tJie  probationary  period  of 
youth  is  immediately  followed  by  the  weaving 
of  new  ties,  and  by  the  assumption  of  solemn 
and  irremissible  trusts.  Nothing  strikes  the 
middle-aged  with  more  astonishment  than 
the  recklessness  with  which  the  most  sacred 
and  enduring  ties  are  formed  under  the 
influence  of  mere  caprice  or  fancy.  Young 
men  and  young  women  are  brought  to- 
gether in  marriage  and  impose  upon  them- 
selves obligations  which  only  death  can 
dissolve,  under  the  impulse  of  mere  taste. 
Without  bringing  the  choice  before  the 
judgment  or  passing  it  under  the  decision 
of  conscience,  they  weave  ties  which  after- 
wards bind  them  like  iron  bands  to  the 
stone  wall  of  a  prison  cell.  It  is  useless 
to  declaim  against  this  folly.  Wisdom 
lifts  up   her  voice    of  solemn    warning    in 


20  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

vain  ;  simply  because  the  young  are  swept 
into  these  domestic  and  friendly  alliances 
through  the  intoxication  of  a  delighted 
imagination,  whose  spell  cannot  be  broken. 
The  only  protection  is  to  bring  this  taste 
itself  under  the  dominion  of  principle,  of 
principle  as  taught  in  God's  holy  word  — 
laying  hold  upon  the  conscience  and  sway- 
ing the  affections  to  all  that  is  beautiful 
and  good.  Thus  an  educated  taste  will  be 
lifted  above  the  danger  of  mere  caprice  ; 
and  through  its  very  instinct  will  make  the 
choice  which  is  reasonable  and  safe. 

Equally  so,  my  young  friends,  with  the 
trusts  to  be  hereafter  assumed  in  life.  No 
man  can  foretell  what  these  may  be.  We 
approach  them  so  gradually,  that  we  are 
upon  them  before  we  have  taken  their 
measure.  What  we  term  the  accidents  of 
life  drift  us  into  new  positions,  and  we  find 
ourselves  in  this  eddy  or  in  that.  There 
we  are  in  the  centre  of  the  constant  whirl, 
from  which  there  is  no  outlet  ;  and  there 
society  drops  down  upon  us  the  responsi- 
bilities which  are  to  be  borne  until  we  sleep 
in  death.  I  do  not  know  that  I  say  any- 
thing strange,  that  men  are  continually 
thrust  into  prominence  as  the  leaders  of 
others,  who  are  themselves  astonished  at 
their  own  position.      Not  infrequently  they 


YOUTH,     THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  2  1 

start  back  with  apprehension  and  fear, 
thoroughly  distrustful  of  their  ability  to 
meet  the  expectations  which  nothing  in 
their  conscious  experience  appears  to  jus- 
tify. What,  now,  is  the  only  protection 
from  disgraceful  failure?  It  is  that  sound 
preparation  made  beforehand,  in  the  acqui- 
sition of  a  solid  character  and  the  adoption 
of  principles  capable  of  bearing  the  strain 
hereafter  to  be  put  upon  them.  With  a 
good  basis  securely  laid,  the  immediate 
preparation  is  soon  made  which  will  place 
any  man  abreast  of  life.  I  have  a  deep 
conviction — which  you  may  take  for  what 
it  is  worth — that  he  who  deals  honestly 
with  himself,  with  the  world,  and  with 
God,  will  never  be  found  unequal  to  any 
responsibility  fairly  laid  upon  him  through 
the  agency  of  others.  These  sacred  trusts 
fall  upon  us  from  the  God  of  Providence, 
and  they  mark  out  our  appointed  path  of 
duty.  In  the  acceptance  of  them  we  may, 
in  all  humility  and  faith,  rest  upon  the 
Divine  promise,  ' '  as  thy  day  is,  so  shall 
thy  strength  be." 

In  bringing  these  thoughts  to  a  close, 
permit  me  to  add  that  the  young  men  of 
this  generation,  and  of  those  which  are  to 
follow,  enter  upon  life  under  increasingly 
severe   requisitions.       The    whole    past    of 


22  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

history  has  been  but  a  preparation  for  the 
present  and  future,  with  their  momentous 
issues.  You  recall  the  energetic  appeal 
which  flashed  like  fire  from  the  soul  of 
Napoleon  to  his  soldiers  in  Egypt  ;  when, 
pointing  to  the  Pyramids,  he  said  :  "  From 
the  top  of  those  Pyramids  the  centuries 
look  down  upon  you  ;  "  even  so  the  young 
men  of  to-day  are  ' '  encompassed  by  a 
great  cloud  of  witnesses  "  looking  out  from 
the  historic  past,  and  by  a  vast  array  of 
living  witnesses  breathless  with  anxiety  to 
see  how  you  are  arming  for  the  contests 
of  the  future!  That  future  is  pregnant 
with  most  stupendous  events.  Knowledge 
is  throwing  her  electric  light  to  illuminate 
the  path  to  be  trodden.  Nature  is  yielding 
forces  stored  within  her  womb  to  drive  the 
world  forward  with  accelerating  speed. 
Are  we  rushing  near  to  the  great  catas- 
trophe, when  the  final  plunge  will  be  made 
into  the  darkness  that  is  beyond  ?  All 
signs  go  to  show  that  the  battles  of  the 
future  are  to  be  the  battles  worthy  of  the 
end,  when  "  the  moon  shall  be  turned  into 
blood  and  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the 
Lord  shall  come."  In  any  event,  it  is  not 
the  war  of  the  pigmies,  but  of  the  giants, 
to  which  you  are  summoned.  Let  your 
armor  be  tried  armor,    of  steel  tempered  in 


YOUTH,.  THE    FORMATIVE    PERIOD.  23 

the  fire,  that  can  turn  the  point  of  every 
lance  hurled  against  it.  See  well  to  it  that, 
as  the  bud  opens  into  the  flower,  your  youth 
of  preparation  will  bloom  into  brilliant  and 
successful  manhood. 


4^©5^ 


LECTURE  II. 
ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER. 


Judges  viii.  21 — "For   as  the    man  is,    so    is   his 
strength." 

This  pithy  aphorism  is  found  imbedded 
within  a  parenthesis  in  the  history  of 
Gideon,  the  Hebrew  judge.  After  defeat- 
ing the  Midianitish  armies  in  successive 
battles,  he  at  length  obtained  possession 
of  their  two  kings,  Zebah  and  Zalmunna. 
Referring  to  one  of  the  atrocities  com- 
mitted  during  their  seven  years'  oppres- 
sion of  Israel,  he  addresses  the  searching 
question,  ' 4  what  manner  of  men  were  they 
whom  ye  slew  at  Tabor  ?"  The  reply  was, 
' '  As  thou  art,  so  were  they  ;  each  one 
resembled  the  children  of  a  king."  Then 
said  Gideon,  "They  were  my  brethren, 
even  the  sons  of  my  mother  ;  as  the  Lord 
liveth,  if  ye  had  saved  them  alive,  I  would 
not  slay  you."  The  command  was  then 
given  to  Jether,  Gideon's  first-born,  as  the 
avenger  of  blood,  "up  and  slay  them." 
When   the   stripling   drew   back   from  the 


26  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

tragic  office,  through  the  timidity  of  youth, 
Zebah  and  Zalmunna,  with  the  chivalry 
characteristic  of  the  warrior,  prayed  to  fall 
by  the  hand  of  an  equal.  They  said  to 
Gideon,  "  Rise  thou  and  fall  upon  us  ;  for 
as  the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength."  I  ap- 
propriate these  words  as  singularly  ex- 
pressing the  topic  of  this  evening's  discus- 
sion. 

It  is  true  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical 
sphere,  that  the  man  himself  is  the  measure 
of  his  strength  ;  we  know  what  he  can  do, 
when  we  know  what  he  is.  I  had  occasion 
in  the  last  Lecture  to  dwell  upon  the  im- 
portance of  youth,  as  the  period  in  which 
character  is  mainly  formed  ;  for  however  it 
be  modified  in  after  years,  either  improving 
or  deteriorating,  it  will  retain  the  cast  of 
features  acquired  in  the  earlier  time.  But 
now  the  question  recurs,  what  do  we  mean 
by  character  ?  The  word  is  sufficiently  in- 
definite ;  yet  it  always  implies  something, 
when  applied  to  our  fellow-men.  How 
shall  we  define  it  ?  In  tracing  its  etymol- 
ogy, we  find  it  to  be  a  Greek  word  bodily 
transferred  to  our  own  language.  In  its 
original  verbal  form  it  signifies  to  cut  or 
to  engrave,  as  with  a  graving  tool  upon  a 
seal ;  then,  by  an  easy  transition,  the  term 
comes  to  signify  whatever  is    thus   cut  or 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  2*] 

engraved  upon  that  seal — the  motto  or 
sentiment  which  has  been  carved  upon  its 
surface.  Thus  we  have  characters  of  va- 
rious kinds  and  designs.  The  letters  of 
the  alphabet  are  characters  invented  as  ex- 
pressive of  particular  sounds,  indicating 
their  power  in  framing  words  and  sentences. 
The  numerals  which  are  used  in  arithmetic, 
the  symbols  which  are  employed  in  algebra, 
the  devices  sometimes  carved  upon  shields, 
the  emblems  blazoned  upon  banners  to 
arouse  the  patriotism  of  a  people — these 
exemplify,  without  further  enumeration, 
the  different  uses  in  which  the  word  char- 
acter is  popularly  used.  But  when  the 
term  is  transferred  to  man,  or  to  moral 
beings  of  any  grade,  it  may,  perhaps,  be 
best  described  as  that  assemblage  of  quali- 
ties which  impart  distinctness  and  indi- 
viduality to  each — as  is  vividly  expressed 
in  the  familiar  quotation  from  England's 
great  dramatist : 

"  A  combination,  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man." 

The  point,  however,  to  be  emphasized 
here  is,  that  character  is  something  to  be 
acquired.  It  must  rest  upon  a  basis  deeper 
than  itself,  must  strike   its  roots  into  what 


25  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

we  are  accustomed  to  call  "  nature  ;  "  pre- 
cisely as  the  properties  of  matter  inhere  in 
an  unknown  substance  of  which  they  are 
the  expression  and  the  sign.  Every  plant 
has  a  virtue  secreted  within  its  very  life, 
which  determines  its  development  in  leaf, 
bud,  flower  and  fruit.  Every  animal  has 
its  fundamental  quality  giving  complexion 
to  all  its  actions,  and  distinguishing  it  from 
every  other — the  lion,  as  the  beast  of 
prey  ;  the  lamb,  as  the  symbol  of  innocent 
meekness.  So  man,  created  in  the  image 
of  God,  in  knowledge,  righteousness  and 
holiness,  possessed  a  nature  whose  whole 
bias  was  toward  God  in  obedience  of  His 
will  and  worship  of  His  glorious  majesty. 
But  in  the  formation  of  personal  character, 
these  original  aptitudes  and  tendencies 
must  pass  from  the  region  of  instinctive 
promptings,  and  be  reproduced  and  reflec- 
tively recognized  in  consciousness.  Thus 
perceived  by  the  reason,  approved  by  the 
judgment,  endorsed  by  the  conscience  and 
adopted  by  the  will,  they  become  regula- 
tive principles,  shaping  the  life  and  direct- 
ing the  conduct.  Hence,  it  will  be  borne 
in  mind,  all  moral  beings  of  whom  we  have 
knowledge  — angels  and  men — were  placed 
upon  probation  ;  that,  by  the  free  choice 
of  their  own  will,  original  dispositions  may 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  29 

crystallize  into  fixed  principles,  and  thus 
by  voluntary  acceptance  form  personal  and 
permanent  character.*  The  same  law  ob- 
tains in  the  sphere  of  Grace.  The  princi- 
ples of  faith  and  obedience,  implanted  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  renewed  soul,  are 
gifts  bestowed  from  above  ;  nevertheless, 
they  must  be  accepted  by  the  believer's 
free  choice  as  the  guiding  principles  of  his 
life — and  thus  in  the  fullest  sense  be  made 
his  own.  He  is  placed  to  the  end  of  life 
under  a  various  discipline,  subjecting  these 
graces  often  to  an  excruciating  test  ;  in 
order  that  they  may  be  wrought  into  the 
very  texture  of  his  being,  until  he  shall 
grow  "  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the 
measure   of  the  stature  of  the    fulness  of 

*  That  accurate  and  subtle  thinker,  Dr.  Thornwell, 
in  the  Tenth  of  his  Theological  Lectures  ("Collected 
Writings,"  vol.  i.,  p.  245),  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage :  "  Now.  at  the  commencement  of  a  moral 
career,  our  upright  constitution  has  not  been  com- 
pletely identified  with  our  personality,  because  it  has 
not,  in  its  tendencies  and  dispositions,  been  taken  up 
by  our  wills  and  deiiberately  chosen  and  adopted. 
It  is  the  determination  of  the  will  which  fixes  our 
natural  dispositions  as  principles.  When  they  are  re- 
viewed by  the  understanding  and  deliberately  chosen 
by  the  will,  they  then  become  ours  in  a  nearer  and 
closer  sense  ;  they  are  reflectively  approved,  reflec- 
tively endorsed,  and  through  that  energy  by  which 
acts  generate  a  habit  they  become  fixed  elements  of 
our  life." 


30      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

Christ."  Just  here  is  grounded  the  in- 
eradicable sense  of  responsibility  for  our 
acts  as  the  outflow  of  character.  They  are 
distinct  expressions  of  our  personal,  indi- 
vidual will ;  as  the  leaf  and  the  fruit  deter- 
mine the  nature  of  the  tree.  And  as  the 
leaves,  in  their  decay,  fertilize  the  soil, 
restoring  fatness  to  the  tree  that  it  may 
produce  more  fruit — so  these  acts  which 
flow  from  character  return  into  it  again, 
making  it  stronger  either  for  good  or  evil. 
In  this  we  see  the  solemnity  of  life  as 
strictly  an  educational  process  ;  presenting 
every  man  at  the  bar  of  Christ,  fitted  by 
his  training  for  the  world  of  happiness  or 
woe. 

"  The  mind  is  its  own  place,  and  in  itself 
Can  make  a  heaven  of  hell,  a  hell  of  heaven." 

With  this    brief  exposition    of  what  is 
meant   by    the    word    character,     we    are 

PREPARED  TO  CONSIDER  THE  ELEMENTS 
WHICH  ENTER  INTO    IT    AND    CONSTITUTE    ITS 

strength.  Whenever  this  term  is  used 
without  a  qualifying  adjective  it  is  in  the 
way  of  approval.  Thus  we  say,  this  or 
that  man  is  a  man  of  character ;  meaning 
that  he  is  intensely  individual,  with  traits 
distinctly  marked,  able  therefore  to  bear 
his  part  in  life,  and  to  discharge  its  varied 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  3  I 

responsibilities.  What,  then,  are  the  con- 
stituent elements  of  a  strong  character  ? 
I  will  seek  to  answer  this  question  in  six 
particulars  : 

I.  Obviously,  the  first  requisite  is  a  clear 
practical  judgment,  which  estimates  every 
thing  in  life  at  its  true  value.  God  has 
placed  the  eye  in  front,  as  the  candle  of 
the  body  ;  throwing  its  light  into  the  far 
beyond,  that  man  may  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness ;  like  the  headlight  in  front  of  an  en- 
gine, throwing  its  gleam  into  the  deep 
midnight  and  opening  a  pathway  into 
which  the  train  may  follow  on  its  iron 
track.  So,  by  a  beautiful  analogy,  the 
mind  is  placed  in  front  of  all  man's  powers, 
as  the  directing  faculty — looking  through 
and  lighting  up  the  perspective  of  life. 
The  power  to  weigh  all  that  he  sees  or 
hears  in  equal  scales,  to  form  a  just  judg- 
ment of  what  they  are  intrinsically  worth, 
and  then  to  adjust  these  values  in  their 
relation  to  each  other,  will  give  to  him  who 
possesses  it  a  clearness  of  vision  piercing 
through  all  the  mists  that  hang  around  hu- 
man life,  and  making  it  bright  as  day. 
Through  this  practical  intelligence  we  come 
to  have  an  aim,  which  is  the  goal  of  all 
our  endeavor  ;   which  gleams  before   us  as 


32       FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

the    polar  star,    such  as    that   guiding  the 
mariner  along  the  paths  of  the  sea. 

Moving  in  what  direction  soever,  we 
must  ascertain  the  limit  beyond  which  we 
may  not  suffer  ourselves  to  pass.  God, 
for  example,  has  made  us  capable  of  enjoy- 
ment ;  He  has  placed  us  in  a  world  regaling 
the  senses  with  every  species  of  delight, 
and  has  provided  us  with  spiritual  tastes 
for  the  more  refined  pleasures  of  the  mind 
and  heart.  Pleasure,  therefore,  has  a  value 
not  to  be  despised  by  any  ;  but  what  are 
its  limits  within  which  it  should  be  re- 
strained ?  Not  to  recognize  and  respect 
these  boundaries,  is  to  surrender  ourselves 
as  voluptuaries  to  mere  sensual  or  intel- 
lectual enjoyment,  and  to  become  as  frivo- 
lous as  the  insect  humming  in  the  breeze. 
So  again,  my  young  friends,  we  are  placed 
under  the  exactions  of  business  ;  as  you 
will  find,  as  soon  as  you  have  placed  your 
feet  squarely  upon  the  platform  of  life. 
Some  calling  must  be  pursued,  through 
which  we  earn  our  bread,  swallowing  up 
our  thoughts  by  day  and  often  invading 
the  hours  of  rest.  But  what  are  the  limits 
within  which  it  shall  be  severely  hedged  ? 
Unless  this  be  known,  the  fretting  cares  of 
work-day  toil  will  eat  like  a  canker  into 
the    substance    of   our    beino-,    and    leave 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  33 

nothing  but  the  shell  behind.  So,  too, 
honor  has  its  charms.  Ambition  has  been 
styled  "  the  vice  of  noble  minds,"  and  God 
has  made  us  to  aspire.  The  prizes  held 
out  to  noble  achievements  are  the  incen- 
tives to  greatness.  Yet  ambition  must  be 
held  with  a  curb  ;  else  it  overleaps  itself, 
and  falls  into  a  debasing  selfishness  in 
which  all  true  nobility  of  character  is  en- 
gulfed forever.  These  illustrations  suffice 
to  show  the  need  of  a  discriminating  judg- 
ment, which  cannot  be  deceived  by  aught 
that  is  hollow  and  pretentious  on  earth. 

Observe,  further,  that  we  live  in  the 
bosom  of  so  many  complex  relations,  all  of 
which  mark  out  a  separate  sphere  of  duty 
and  impose  obligations  absolutely  impera- 
tive. There  is  the  home,  in  whose  soft 
nest  we  were  born  ;  there  is  the  State, 
laying  its  iron  hand  upon  us  at  every  step 
in  life  ;  there  is  the  Church,  with  her  holier 
duties  laid  upon  every  heart  ;  there  is  the 
broad  philanthropy,  which  binds  in  a 
blessed  brotherhood  the  whole  human 
race  ;  and  as  our  vision  shall  enlarge  in  the 
light  of  "the  upper  day,"  there  will  be  a 
spirit  broader  than  even  philanthropy, 
which,  like  God's  own  love,  shall  take  the 
moral  universe  in  the  embrace  of  our  affec- 
tions.     Now,  to  walk  evenly  in  these  varied 


34  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  complex  relations,  and  to  adjust  the 
duties  belonging  to  each,  requires  a  clear, 
practical  judgment  necessary  as  the  first 
element  of  character.  One  duty  is  some- 
times pleaded  as  the  excuse  for  the  neglect 
of  others  equally  important :  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  this  is  always  a  mark  of  weak- 
ness ;  for  the  highest  obligation  is  to  adjust 
these  duties,  so  that  they  may  never  clash, 
and  be  equally  performed  with  a  dignity 
and  grace  that  does  not  cringe  before  any 
obstacle.  We  shall  be  thus  self-poised  and 
equal  to  any  emergency  that  may  arise  ; 
like  that  hanging  rock,  of  which  you  have 
read,  so  evenly  balanced  upon  its  own 
centre  of  gravity,  that,  whilst  swaying 
under  the  finger  of  a  child,  it  remains  un- 
moved through  the  storms  of  all  the  cen- 
turies. 

II.  The  second  element  of  character  we 
must  find  in  the  sphere  of  the  will,  tenacity 
of  purpose  springing  from  the  strength  of  con- 
viction. We  sometimes  complain  of  the 
difficulties  encountered  in  the  performance 
of  duty,  whereas  it  is  from  these  difficulties 
a  true  heroism  emerges  ;  and  he  is  a  weak- 
ling and  a  coward  who  quails  before  the 
obstacles  that  oppose  his  progress.  A 
proper  manhood  never  dawdles  in  the  lap 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  35 

of  pleasure,  sipping-  the  honey  and  wine  of 
sensual  indulgence.  The  heroic  quality 
rejoices  in  the  struggles  by  which  its  virtue 
is  approved,  and  glories  in  the  triumph 
with  which  it  is  finally  adorned.  Those 
alone  are  entitled  to  lasting  fame  who  can 
brave  solitude,  enduring  suffering  and  re- 
proach for  the  cause  they  hold  to  be  just 
and  true.  As  the  slain  warrior  is  laid  in 
his  grave  on  the  field  of  blood,  with  his 
martial  cloak  as  his  winding-sheet ;  so  it 
becomes  a  true  man  to  go  even  to  his 
death,  shrouded  in  his  personal  and  in- 
alienable convictions.  For  out  of  these 
convictions  of  what  is  right  and  lovely  and 
honorable,  the  courage  is  born  by  which 
the  world  is  conquered. 

Young  men,  if  I  read  history  aright,  this 
tenacity  of  purpose  is  the  historic  quality, 
which  you  will  allow  me  to  describe  by 
that  quaint  but  expressive  Saxon  word, 
toughness.  The  nation  that  is  tough,  is 
the  nation  that  rules.  It  was  this  that 
made  the  old  Romans  the  iron  race,  whose 
sceptre  once  swrayed  the  earth.  It  was  this 
tenacity  of  purpose  that  enabled  the  silent 
William  to  wrork  out  the  liberty  of  the 
Netherlands  from  a.  succession  of  defeats, 
such  as  would  have  smothered  any  but  the 
noblest  of  heroes.      Force  of  will  is  the  con- 


36  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

stant  power  that  succeeds,  whether  it  be  in 
the  world  of  matter  or  of  mind  ;  and  he  who 
consecrates  his  life  to  a  noble  end,  and 
clings  to  it  with  an  undivided  purpose,  will 
leave  behind  him  a  memory  crowned  with 
gratitude  and  praise. 

III.  The  formation  of  sound  principles, 
and  the  habitual  command  of  them,  arc  both 
indispensable  to  those  who  would  play  well 
their  part  in  life.  The  sentiment  of  one  of 
the  great  thinkers  of  our  own  time  deserves 
to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold  :  ' '  The  love 
of  truth  is  honesty  of  reason,  as  the  love  of 
virtue  is  honesty  of  heart."  It  is  an  im- 
mense gain  to  know  the  truth,  so  exquis- 
itely described  by  the  poet  as  the 

"Stern  daughter  of  the  voice  of  God  ;" 

but  it  is  a  divine  benediction  when  this 
truth  is  embraced  with  the  virgin  love  of 
the  heart.  The  young  man  who  enters 
upon  life  with  this  double  "honesty  of 
reason  and  of  heart, "  will  easily  digest  the 
principles  which  are  to  be  the  guide  of  his 
conduct.  They  will  enter  into  the  blood 
and  bone  of  all  his  thinking,  and  will  be 
applied  in  all  the  exigencies  of  his  career, 
as  safely  as  the  sinews  and  muscles  move 
the  limbs  upon  which  they  are  strung. 
This  counsel,  my  young  friends,  is  far  from 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  3/ 

being  useless.  We  meet  every  day  with 
those  unhappy  incapables,  to  whom  the 
right  of  private  judgment  proves  an  in- 
cumbrance rather  than  a  privilege.  Swing- 
ing to  and  fro  in  perpetual  vacillation  and 
doubt,  they  can  never  determine  for  them- 
selves what  is  truth.  Such  pour  forth  the 
pitiful  complaint  that  the  Bible  is  not 
throughout  a  Book  of  Leviticus,  a  mere 
record  of  technical  rules  meeting  every 
perplexity  that  arises.  But  is  it  not  plam 
that  such  a  system  could  never  answer  an 
educational  purpose  ?  It  may  do  for  the 
period  of  childhood  to  be  thus  held  in 
leading-strings ;  but  the  reason  and  the 
conscience  need  to  be  in  daily  exercise,  if 
we  are  to  grow  into  strong  men  able  ' '  to 
discern  between  good  and  evil."  Infinite 
wisdom  has  not,  therefore,  prescribed  stiff 
and  arbitrary  rules,  as  the  splinters  and 
bandages  to  bind  up  a  broken  will  ;  but  has 
revealed  the  great  principles  of  truth  and 
duty,  which  are  to  be  absorbed  into  our 
very  substance  ;  and  no  small  part  of  our 
education  on  earth,  is  to  learn  how  to 
apply  these  in  every  crises  through  which 
we  pass.  And  it  will  be  found  that  these 
principles,  whilst  inflexible  in  their  author- 
ity, arc  elastic  enough  to  fit  in  with  all  the 
perplexities  and  difficulties  of  the  most 
troubled  career. 


38      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

One  point  further  needs  to  be  empha- 
sized :  these  principles  must  not  only  be 
distinctly  formed,  but  must  always  be  in 
hand  for  immediate  use.  In  war  an  army 
must  always  be  ready  for  action.  When 
the  midnight  foe  is  upon  them,  there  is  no 
time  for  burnishing  the  armor  ;  it  must  be 
ready  for  defence,  or  the  battle  is  lost.  So 
when  the  world  opens  its  batteries  upon 
the  young,  and  the  temptations  of  life  are 
suddenly  sprung  on  their  path,  they  fail  in 
the  struggle  of  life  unless  prepared  with 
the  weapons  to  beat  back  the  foe.  The 
men  whose  principles  of  action  are  fully 
matured,  and  held  in  due  subordination  to 
each  other,  are  never  surprised  in  any 
emergency  ;  and  by  mere  force  of  character 
will  bend  to  their  own  purpose  the  most 
obstinate  difficulties  that  oppose. 

IV.  The  symmetrical  development  of  all 
the  faculties  with  which  we  are  endowed,  is 
indispensable  to  a  perfect  character.  Gram- 
marians tell  us  of  nouns  declinable  in  but 
a  single  case,  which  are  termed  "  monop- 
totes;"  so  there  are  men  educated  in  but  a 
single  faculty.  It  may  be  the  intellect ; 
one  stands  before  us  the  very  incarnation 
of  logic,  but  as  cold  as  a  polar  iceberg ;  a 
pure  intelligence,    without  a  pulse  of  genu- 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  39 

ine  emotion,  or  glow  of  fancy,  to  give 
complexion  to  his  life.  It  is  the  combina- 
tion of  all  his  powers  that  gives  strength 
and  beauty  to  man.  It  is  the  intellect 
looking  out  upon  truth,  the  affections  em- 
bracing the  good,  the  conscience  discrimi- 
nating the  right,  and  the  will  turning  all 
these  into  concrete  acts  of  the  life — it  is 
while  passing  around  the  entire  circle  of 
all  his  endowments,  that  a  man  stands  be- 
fore his  fellows  in  the  perfect  symmetry  of 
his  nature.  We  look  with  delight  upon 
every  instance  of  physical  development  ; 
one  appears  before  us  six  feet  high,  broad- 
shouldered,  deep-chested,  with  a  noble 
head  crowning  the  body,  erect  upon  the 
earth  as  with  the  tread  of  a  conqueror,  with 
admirable  pose  he  stands  the  very  picture 
of  manly  beauty.  But  this  is  only  a  pic- 
ture of  what  is  nobler  yet  ;  when,  in  the 
proportion  of  his  intellectual  and  moral 
gifts,  he  stands  complete  in  all  the  attri- 
butes which  make  a  hero — possessing  in 
the  assemblage  of  his  powers  a  sinewy 
strength  which  shall  be  equal  to  any  enter- 
prise. 

V.  There  can  be  no  moral  excellence  ivith- 
01a  the  supremacy  of  the  spiritual  ele7nents  of 
our  nature  over  the  animal.    Man  is,  indeed, 


40  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 


a  miracle  among  the  creatures,  the  bridge 
which  connects  two  worlds.  In  the  pos- 
session of  a  soul,  he  is  akin  to  God  ;  and 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  spiritual  nature  he 
rises  to  his  highest  dignity,  and  becomes 
the  peer  of  angels.  When  in  all  the  utter- 
ances and  movements  of  a  man  can  be 
traced  the  flashings  of  an  immortal  soul, 
then  he  is  glorified  into  the  image  of  God 
who  made  him.      We  can  but  exclaim  : 

"  What  a  piece  of  work  is  man  !     How  noble 
In  reason  !  how  infinite  in  faculty  !  in  form, 
And  moving,  how  express  and  admirable  !  in 
Action,  how  like  an  angel  !  in  apprehension, 
How  like  a  god  !   the  beauty  of  the  world !   the 
Paragon  of  animals  !" 

Yet  with  these  lofty  endowments,  he  is 
allied  to  the  beasts  of  the  field,  with  the 
same  appetites  and  lusts,  with  a  mortal 
body  destined  to  return  to  the  earth  from 
which  it  was  taken.  In  this  commixture 
of  opposing  elements  one  cannot  but  recall 
the  antitheses  of  the  poet  Young  : 

•'  How  poor,  how  rich,  how  abject,  how  august, 
How  complicate,  how  wonderful,  is  man  !" 

In  the  warfare  between  these  forces  of  his 
complex  being,  man  finds  the  turning  point 
of  his  earthly  and  eternal  destiny.  If  he 
gives  the  rein    to    appetite   always  craving 


ELEMENTS    OF    CHARACTER.  4  I 

for  indulgence,  he  sinks  into  the  pit  of 
debauchery  and  loses  that  nobility  conferred 
upon  him  as  lord  over  the  animals  beneath 
him.  It  is  very  sad  that,  when  man  de- 
grades himself  to  the  level  of  the  brute,  he 
becomes  the  meanest  animal  that  lives,  a 
sufficient  proof  that  his  true  manhood  is  to 
be  found  in  "  the  sanctity  of  reason  "  with 
which  he  is  endowed  ;  and  which  being 
lost,  he  falls  below  the  guidance  even  of 
the  instinct  of  the  brute.  Character  in  man, 
therefore  implies  the  ascendency  of  the 
spiritual  over  the  animal  propensities  of  his 
nature  ;  without  which  he  forfeits  his  son- 
ship  as  made  after  the  likeness  of  his 
Creator. 

VI.  The  last  constituent  which  I  will 
mention  as  entering  into  a  tine  character,  is 
the  pozver  of  relating  ourselves  to  society  and 
to  the  great  Being  who  controls  our  destiny 
Every  man  has  his  place  in  life,  though  he 
does  not  always  succeed  in  finding  it  ;  then 
inevitable  failure  ensues.  He  who  ascer- 
tains his  true  position  in  the  generation  to 
which  he  belongs,  finds  the  duties  assigned 
to  him  ;  and  may  reverently  expect  that 
gracious  protection  will  ensure  success  in 
the  sphere  allotted  to  him. 

This  involves  the  great  principle  of  self- 


42      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

abnegation.  True  greatness  does  not  con- 
sist in  the  building  up  of  self,  which  on  the 
contrary  is  always  an  element  of  weakness 
— like  the  flaw  in  machinery,  which  breaks 
down  at  length  under  the  strain  put  upon 
it.  There  are  not  a  few  who  die,  as  one 
expresses  it,  "  from  an  overdose  of  self." 
The  glory  of  God's  love  is  seen  in  the  gift 
of  His  own  Son  as  "the  propitiation  for 
our  sins  ;"  and  the  most  acceptable  sacri- 
fice laid  upon  any  human  altar  is  the 
supreme  gift  which  one  makes  of  himself, 
consecrating  all  his  powers  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  to  the  welfare  of  mankind.  Those 
who  enter  into  this  holy  priesthood  will 
ever  draw  upon  the  strength  that  is  Divine, 
and  rise  superior  to  all  the  trials  of  this 
troubled  life. 

My  young  friends,  allow  me  to  close  this 
Lecture  with  this  pregnant  truth,  that 
character  is  the  condition  of  success  in  all 
our  undertakings.  Genius,  so  often  lauded 
to  the  skies,  fails  frequently  for  want  of 
common  sense  to  guide  it.  The  men  upon 
whom  society  leans  for  support  are  those 
of  well-balanced  minds,  of  sound  practical 
judgment,  whose  solid  character  gives  the 
pledge  of  faithfulness  to  every  trust  com- 
mitted to  their  hands. 

Young    men,    in   the    opening  of   their 


ELEMENTS    OE    CHARACTER.  43 

career,  ask  the  anxious  question,  "shall  I 
succeed?"  I  recall  the  confused  fear  which 
filled  my  breast  when  I  first  stepped  from 
the  cloister  of  the  student,  and  was  turned 
loose  upon  life.  It  spread  itself  before  me 
like  a  tempestuous  sea,  the  waste  of  waters 
within  the  encircling  horizon.  Would  my 
frail  bark  be  equal  to  the  pre-destined 
voyage  ?  Ever  since  that  day  I  have  de- 
sired to  stand  in  the  presence  of  young 
adventurers  like  myself,  if  only  to  say  just 
this — that  success  belongs  to  those  who 
deserve  it  ;  but  success  in  the  sphere  which 
Providence  assigns  to  each.  It  may  not 
be  the  career  of  the  eagle,  with  the  strong- 
wing  soaring  above  the  storm  into  the  very 
eye  of  the  sun  ;  yet  it  may  be  the  flight  of 
the  lark  shaking  the  morning  dew  from  its 
wing,  and  caroling  its  song  in  the  upper 
air.  But  whether  the  career  be  that  of  the 
eagle  or  of  the  lark,  it  will  be  the  success 
of  him  who  honestly  weighs  life  and  dis- 
charges its  responsibilities.  Then  as  under 
the  discipline  of  earth  the  character  forms 
into  the  perfect  crystal,  its  diamond  splen- 
dor will  reflect  the  Divine  glory  as  it  shines 
upon  him  through  the  eternal  day. 


LECTURE   III. 

INFLUENCE    OF   PIETY  IN  FORM- 
ING CHARACTER. 


Job  xvii.  9 — "  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way  ; 
and  he  that  hath  clean  hands  shall  be  stronger  and 
stronger.'''' 

In  the  last  Lecture,  I  was  led  to  insist 
upon  personal  character  as  something 
acquired,  and  the  elements  which  enter 
into  it.  In  this  last,  I  purposely  omitted 
to  dwell  upon  the  influence  most  important 
of  all  ;  reserving  it  for  consideration  at  the 
present  time.      I    propose,    then,    to  set 

BEFORE  YOU  TO-NIGHT  THE  INFLUENCE  OF 
PRACTICAL  RELIGION  IN  GIVING  CONSISTENCY 
AND  TRUTHFULNESS  TO  MAN. 

If  you  were  asked  to  give  the  definition 
of  a  perfect  man,  you  would  probably 
reply,  "it  is  he  who  can  afford  to  be  ex- 
actly what  he  seems."  Many  deny  the 
possibility  of  this,  insisting  that  life  is 
simply  a  masquerade.  I  would  not  endorse 
a  view  so  cynical  as  this.  Let  us  freely 
acknowledge  the  generous  and  noble  qual- 
ities often  exhibited-  by  many  who  are  not 
brought    within    the    kingdom    of   Christ  ; 


46  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  whilst  this  may  be  credited  to  the  in- 
direct influence  of  the  Gospel,  which  is  its 
outer  halo,  still  let  due  honor  be  paid 
to  the  candor  and  generosity  natural  to 
many.  It  would  be  captious  and  illiberal 
not  to  allow  the  many  excellent  traits 
possessed  by  those  who  are  not  the  subjects 
of  grace.  Even  with  this  large  admission, 
however,  there  are  probably  none  in  this 
world  who  can  entirely  take  the  covering 
from  their  hearts,  and  disclose  every  secret 
thought  to  public  inspection.  We  may 
perhaps  venture,  in  our  approach  to  God, 
upon  that  seemingly  over-bold  prayer  of 
the  Psalmist,  "Search  me,  O  God,  and 
know  my  heart  ;  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts;"  for  this  is  only  the  recognition 
of  His  omniscience  and  forgiving  love,  but 
does  not  justify  the  same  exposure  to  the 
gaze  of  our  fellow-men.  There  is  that  degree 
of  imperfection  in  the  best  of  us,  that  a 
decent  reserve  must  veil  our  conflict  with 
the  evil  within  us  ;  or  society  would  be 
disjointed  by  the  destruction  of  confidence 
between  man  and  man,  which  is  the  basis 
of  all  human  intercourse.  Even  the  holiest 
cannot  describe  the  corruption  of  indwell- 
ing sin,  without  the  use  of  terms  which 
would  debase  those  who  hear  the  sad  nar- 
ration.     In  this  imperfect  state  we  can  only 


XI 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  47 


mate    the    being-    what    we    seem 


appro 

and  I  wish  now  to  show,  that  the  most 
determinative  influence  in  imparting  truth- 
fulness and  consistency  to  character  is  to 
be  found  in  true  religion.      After  all — 

11  It  matters  not  what  men  assume  to  be  ; 

Or  good,  or  bad,  they  are  but   what  they  are." 

I.  Religion  is  the  only  system  thai  spreads 
itself  over  the  whole  nature  of  man,  in  its 
various  departments  Let  us  enter  into 
some  detail.  First  of  all,  it  takes  posses- 
sion of  the  understanding,  relieving  both 
from  ignorance  and  doubt.  These  unques- 
tionably are  the  two  principal  causes  of 
irregularity  in  the  conduct  of  life.  We 
begin  our  career  with  a  limited  measure  of 
knowledge,  under  which  we  are  obliged  to 
act  as  the  only  guide  we  have  ;  but  as  we 
advance  in  our  course,  other  truths  break- 
in  upon  us  from  the  right  and  left,  which 
modify  our  practice  in  accordance  with  the 
new  convictions  that  have  necessarily  been 
formed.  In  the  course  of  a  long  life,  the 
charge  of  inconsistency  is  sometimes  reck- 
lessly preferred  against  men  ;  who  cannot  es- 
cape the  impeachment,  if  they  would  do  that 
which  is  honest  and  true.  Manifestly,  to 
persist  in  a  course  of  error  lest  we  should 
be   accused    of    vacillation,    is   a    shameful 


48       FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

dereliction  of  principle,  and  inflicts  a  lasting 
wound  upon  the  character.  Ignorance  must, 
therefore,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in- 
volve one  in  outward  inconsistencies  which 
can  only  be  justified  on  the  plea  of  increas- 
ing light.  Doubt  also,  to  an  equal  extent, 
occasions  indecision  and  unsteadiness  of 
life.  In  the  moment  confidence  in  one's 
own  judgment  begins  to  waver,  his  step 
becomes  more  and  more  hesitating,  until 
finally  all  progress  is  arrested. 

Now  the  Gospel  presents  itself  as  a 
system  of  positive  truth,  and  controls  the 
intellect  of  which  it  takes  possession.  It 
does  not  deal  in  probabilities,  nor  in  re- 
mote inferences.  Its  method  of  teaching 
is  that  of  authoritative  testimony,  all  its 
truths  being  on  the  same  level.  Inscru 
table  mysteries,  such  as  the  Trinity,  the 
Incarnation,  the  New  Birth,  the  Resurrec- 
tion, are  disclosed  upon  the  same  authority, 
are  received  with  the  same  faith,  with  the 
plainest  moral  precept  or  the  simplest 
historical  fact.  Its  range  of  instruction  is 
wider,  covering  all  the  relations  in  which 
man  can  possibly  stand  and  all  the  duties 
growing  out  of  the  same  :  and  what  is  more 
wonderful  still,  there  is  a  congruity  between 
the  truths  revealed  and  the  nature  of  the 
human    soul  ;    by    reason    of    which  .they 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  49 

secure  an  entrance  from  which  it  is  impos- 
sible they  shall  ever  be  dislodged.  So  far, 
then,  as  the  mind  is  enlightened  by  it,  so 
far  is  consistency  given  to  character. 

Turn  now  from  the  understanding  to  the 
conscience,  and  see  how  religion  takes  hold 
of  that.  This  is  the  religious  faculty  in 
man,  by  which  he  is  distinguished  from  the 
brute.  It  is  the  power  within  us  which 
responds  immediately  and  necessarily  to 
law  ;  discriminating  between  the  fight  and 
the  wrong,  just  as  the  law  authoritatively 
prescribes  in  what  it  commands  and  in 
what  it  forbids.  To  this  conscience  the 
Gospel  directly  appeals  ;  in  its  ethical  as- 
pect transcending  all  human  systems  in  five 
particulars,  thus  :  (a)  it  places  man  in  wider 
relations,  and  enlarges  in  every  direction 
the  sphere  of  duty.  In  due  subordination, 
it  presents  the  relation  we  sustain  to  God, 
to  ourselves,  to  the  family,  to  the  commu- 
nity in  which  we  dwell,  to  the  State,  to 
the  Church,  to  the  world  ;  in  each  of  these 
concentric  circles  filling  the  entire  space 
with  the  duties  appertaining  to  each. 
Then,  (b)  these  duties  themselves  are  set 
forth  with  far  greater  precision  and  clear- 
ness than  under  any  merely  human  expo- 
sition. The  mists  which  hang  around 
philosophic  speculations  are    dispelled  by 


50  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

the  full  light  of  Divine  revelation,  and  he 
who  has  the  spirit  of  simple  obedience,  is 
never  doomed  to  walk  in  darkness.  Fur- 
ther, (c)  it  brings  into  play  higher  principles 
of  action  than  considerations  of  present  in- 
terest or  general  expediency  ;  in  place  of 
which  it  substitutes  the  fear  of  God  and 
ready  acquiescence  in  His  revealed  will. 
Of  course,  it  follows  (d)  that  it  presents  an 
infallible  and  unchanging  standard  or  rule 
to  which  our  practice  may  be  referred  ; 
and  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  a  perfect 
standard  is  needed  for  the  measure  of 
character  as  well  as  of  conduct.  Thus 
coming  directly  from  God,  it  has  the  sanc- 
tion of  imperial  law,  and  binds  the  con- 
science with  a  supreme  authority.  Finally, 
(e)  the  Gospel  not  only  teaches  duty,  but 
enables  to  its  performance.  It  reveals  an 
agency  by  which  the  heart  is  renewed  and 
all  its  affections  turned  to  what  is  right  and 
true  and  proper  and  good.  The  con- 
science, which  before  trembled  under  the 
accusations  of  the  violated  law,  is  now 
purged  from  a  sense  of  guilt  and  renders  a 
willing  and  joyful  obedience  to  all  that  is 
commanded.  Man  is  lifted  above  the  fear 
of  his  fellows,  moves  ever  in  the  eye  of 
the  Being  whom  he  loves,  only  seeking  to 
know  what  is  right,   and    determining  this 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  5  I 

by  no  suggestions  of  a  fluctuating  policy, 
but  by  the  unerring  decisions  of  a  wisdom 
that  is  infinite. 

Let  it  not  be  urged  that  man  is  deprived 
of  freedom,  if  placed  under  a  supreme  law. 
A  little  reflection  will  showr  that  law  is  the 
only  ground  upon  which  the  liberty  of  a 
rational  agent  can  be  based  ;  just  as  the 
weight  of  a  bird  enables  it  to  float  in  the 
air,  or  the  ballast  of  the  ship  enables  it  to 
plow  the  waters  of  the  deep.  If  man  were 
outside  law,  he  would  be  outside  all  rela- 
tions ;  and  there  would  be  no  sphere  in 
which  moral  agency  could  be  exercised, 
and  consequently  it  would  be  idle  to  speak 
of  will  at  all,  much  less  of  the  freedom  of 
its  exercise. 

But  the  Gospel  covers  the  whole  nature 
of  man,  when  it  gains  full  possession  of  his 
heart.  It  is  in  the  affections  of  the  soul 
the  motive  power  resides,  which  is  the 
spring  of  human  action.  They  have  been 
almost  poetically  likened  to  the  wings  of 
the  bird,  with  which  it  mounts  aloft  in  the 
sky  ;  and  to  the  sails  of  a  ship,  by  which  it 
is  pressed  forward  on  its  destined  course 
to  a  distant  port.  If  a  man  were  without 
desires,  if  he  were  incapable  of  emotions, 
he  would  be  equally  incapable  of  action. 
However  his  understanding  might  perceive 


5  2  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

truth  or  his  conscience  recognize  the  right, 
he  would  be  without  the  disposition  to 
move  in  this  direction  or  that.  For  this 
he  is  dependent  upon  the  affections  of  the 
heart ;  by  which  the  will  is  determined  to 
its  choice,  resulting  finally  in  the  concrete 
act  in  which  all  the  antecedent  processes 
are  embodied. 

Observe  now  in  this  connection  the 
amazing  simplicity  of  God's  dealings  with 
man.  The  whole  of  human  obedience  is 
reduced  to  the  single  principle  of  love  : 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord,  thy  God,  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself."  The  two  Tables  of 
the  Law  are  covered  in  one  single  precept, 
and  our  obligations  fulfilled  in  one  compre- 
hensive act  of  love.  We  are  thus  relieved 
of  the  wearisome  drudgery  of  a  merely 
mechanical  service,  and  obedience  is  made 
the  joy  of  our  life.  This  simplicity  marks 
the  Divine  procedure  in  nature,  as  well  as 
in  grace.  Innumerable  worlds  revolve 
around  their  respective  centres,  controlled 
by  that  single  law  of  attraction  which 
brings  a  falling  stone  to  the  earth,  and 
which  binds  the  atom  to  the  mass  of  which 
it  is  a  constituent  part.  So  it  is  in  Provi- 
dence. When  God  placed  man  in  Eden, 
his  probation  was  reduced  to  a  single  issue : 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  53 

whilst  the  law  covered  Adam's  entire  na- 
ture, yet  the  temptation  was  restricted  to 
one  point  on  which  alone  his  destiny  turned. 
It  was  an  act  of  singular  benevolence  thus 
to  simplify  and  render  easy  the  trial  upon 
which  the  first  man  was  placed,  when  he 
was  called  to  guard  the  one  avenue  by 
which  alone  the  Tempter  was  allowed  to 
enter.  The  same  tender  consideration  is 
shown  to  the  sinner  in  the  scheme  of  grace. 
When  the  momentous  question  is  raised, 
"What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  the  one 
answer  is  returned,  "Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved  !" 
The  whole  matter  is  reduced  to  a  single  and 
simple  issue,  that  of  a  personal  trust  in  the 
Redeemer  of  men.  In  like  manner  God 
rules  His  children  through  the  affections  of 
their  renewed  nature.  The  value  of  Chris- 
tianity is  seen  in  that  it  is  a  system  of 
practical  religion.  As  in  the  household 
true  filial  obedience  springs  only  from  the 
heart,  so  in  the  family  of  God  no  external 
conformity  to  the  letter  constitutes  obedi- 
ence which  does  not  root  itself  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  love.  Thus,  in  taking  possession 
of  all  man's  natural  powers,  religion  exerts 
the  most  influence  in  imparting  consistency 
to  human  character. 


54      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

II.  TJie  Gospel  discloses  broad  and  com- 
prehensive principles,  whicJi  are  to  be  applied 
in  every  case  of  individual  duty  This  point 
was  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  lecture,  but 
deserves  more  articulate  consideration  just 
here.  We  are  often  tempted  to  wish  that 
an  oracle  without,  or  an  unerring  instinct 
within,  would  guide  us  whenever  the 
emergencies  arise  which  set  our  judgment 
at  fault.  But  if  life  be  a  discipline  through- 
out, we  need  an  educational  system  rather 
than  an  arbitrary  rubric  for  the  government 
of  our  actions.  In  the  changing  conditions 
of  our  earthly  lot,  new  situations  constantly 
arise -in  which  duty  can  only  be  ascertained 
by  a  wise  application  of  principles  already 
adopted.  Take,  for  example,  the  question 
of  wealth  in  the  case  of  Christian  men. 
When  a  hungry  world  is  lifting  up  its  cry 
for  the  bread  of  life,  how  solemn  the  ques- 
tion, "  How  much  wealth  is  it  lawful  for  a 
child  of  God  to  retain  in  his  own  hands?" 
If  wealth  be  a  trust,  how  is  it  to  be  admin- 
ministered  ?  Evidently,  there  are  many 
vitally  interested  in  the  solution  of  this 
single  problem,  which  can  only  be  resolved 
by  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures. 

Take  another  illustration  in  the  matter 
of  worldly  conformity  :   how  far  may  a  pro- 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  5  5 

fessing  Christian  go  with  the  unconverted 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  pleasures  ? 
Where  is  the  line  to  be  drawn  between  the 
pursuits  which  are  lawful,  and  those  in 
which  Christian  character  would  be  seri- 
ously compromised  ?  The  educational  value 
of  true  piety  is  clearly  exhibited  in  these 
two  sufficient  examples  :  for  as  the  question 
of  duty  is  to  be  determined  under  the  safe 
application  of  the  same  general  principles, 
just  to  that  extent  will  the  conduct  pursued 
become  uniform  and  consistent. 

III.  Consider  that  man  has  a  religions 
nature;  and  every  training  that  does  net  in- 
clude this  is  seriously  defective.  It  is  this 
capacity  for  religion  and  worship,  which 
discriminates  the  man  from  the  brute. 
Man  knows  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  ought ;"  he  recognizes  the  obligation  im- 
posed by  authority  upon  the  conscience  ; 
and  through,  the  operation  of  this  faculty 
he  has  the  sense  of  guilt  in  neglecting  the 
same.  The  brute,  on  the  contrary,  knows 
nothing  of  moral  distinctions,  and  is  there- 
fore incapable  of  worship.  The  character, 
then,  in  which  the  religious  element  is  not 
found,  is  sadly  defective.  The  man  of 
science  who  has  searched  through  Nature's 
cabinet,  wresting  from  her  all  her  secrets 


56  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  placing  them  on  record — or  the  phil- 
osopher who  can  dive  into  the  depths  of 
human  conduct,  and  explore  the  motives  by 
which  men  are  actuated  in  life— let  these 
be  simply  intellectual,  and  they  have  lost 
that  seal  of  nobility  which  would  be  recog- 
nized by  the  angels  in  heaven.  Let  one's 
morals  be  of  the  purest  type,  but  without 
any  movement  of  the  soul  in  worship  of  the 
Creator,  and  he  is  dwarfed  in  the  highest 
part  of  his  being.  The  Gospel,  then,  in 
cultivating  the  noblest  attributes  of  man, 
not  only  prepares  him  for  the  duties  of  this 
life,  but  also  develops  that  which  is  to  be 
glorified  in  the  eternal  world. 

IV.  True  piety  imparts  that  conscious 
sincerity  so  indispensable  in  a  race  of  beings 
confessedly  imperfect.  Ours  may  be  a  true 
love,  though  it  be  not  the  "perfect  love 
that  casteth  out  fear;"  and  the  Christian 
goes  into  the  presence  of  his  Heavenly 
Father,  covering  his  face  in  shame  that  his 
adoring  worship  does  not  rise  to  the  height 
of  the  Divine  majesty  and  glory.  Yet  it  is 
much  if  in  all  sincerity  he  can  say,  as  did 
Peter  after  the  denial  of  his  Master, 
"Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things,  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Our  obedience 
to    God's  will  may  not  be  a  covering  long 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  5/ 

enough  or  broad  enough  to  give  us  warmth  ; 
yet,  imperfect  as  it  is,  it  is  something  to 
say  honestly  before  God  and  our  fellow- 
men,  "What  I  profess,  1  am."  These 
acts,  therefore,  though  falling  short  of  our 
full  duty,  may  yet  be  offered  even  to  a 
holy  God  as  evidence  of  a  true  devotion  to 
His   service. 

What,  then,  ensures  a  deeper  sincerity 
than  true  piety  ?  When  a  man  becomes  a 
child  of  God,  he  is  created  anew  by  Divine 
grace  ;  and  all  the  love  which  he  feels,  to- 
gether with  the  obedience  which  is  its 
fruit,  flows  directly  from  the  spiritual  life 
begotten  within  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  same  sincerity  will  be  evinced  in  all 
the  relative  duties  between  man  and  man. 
In  the  varied  relations  of  life,  the  child  be- 
fore the  parent,  the  wife  before  the  hus- 
band, the  acts  performed  are  true  acts 
which  are  not  disgraceful,  simply  because 
they  spring  from  a  true  love  within  the 
soul.  As  the  new  nature  expands,  in  the 
growth  from  infancy  to  "the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ,"  it  presses  out  the 
old  nature  of  sin  which  languishes  to  its 
final  extinction.  You  recall,  perhaps,  the 
memorable  discourse  of  Dr.  Chalmers  upon 
"  the  expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection  ;" 
a  philosophic  way  of  stating   the  doctrine 


58      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

of  sanctification  on  its  positive  side.  Why, 
even  our  gardens  cannot  be  kept  clean  by 
simply  plucking  up  the  weeds  ;  the  soil 
must  be  preoccupied  with  useful  and 
wholesome  plants :  so  the  Holy  Ghost, 
creating  us  ' '  new  creatures  in  Christ 
Jesus,"  fills  the  soul  with  a  new  life  which 
throws  sincerity  and  truth  into  the  very 
acts  which  we  acknowledge  to  be  wholly 
imperfect  before  God  and  men.  Through 
the  force  of  true  piety,  a  value  attaches  to 
actions  which  otherwise  are  destitute  of 
merit. 

V.  //  is  no  small  proof  of  the  moulding 
power  of  the  Gospel,  thai  it  pi  ices  its  rewards 
in  Heaven — above  and  beyond  the  competi- 
tions of  earth.  How  can  it  fail  to  give  con- 
sistency and  strength  to  human  character, 
when  faith  with  its  prophetic  eye  peers 
through  the  gloom  of  the  present,  and  sees 
beyond  the  Judgment  the  rewards  laid  up 
for  those  who  love  God  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments. Under  the  influence  of  this 
vision  the  world  may  reel  beneath  our  feet, 
or  through  its  successive  disappointments 
fade  wholly  out  of  sight  ;  still  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  joy  that  is  to  come  will  enable 
us  to  be  patient  and  enduring  under  all  the 
trials  of  our  lot.      Our  plans  may  ravel  out 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  $g 

in  our  hands,  and  we  may  feel  that  nothing 
has  been  accomplished  of  all  that  we  de- 
sired ;  still  these  sickening  failures  may  be 
the  most  precious  lessons  teaching  us  to 
4 '  set  our  affections  on  things  above  where 
Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God." 
The  jeers  of  our  fellow-men  may  fall  upon 
us  bearing  our  cross,  as  they  fell  upon  the 
Master  hanging  upon  His  ;  yet  with  Him 
we  may  be  able  to  say,  ' '  Father,  into  thy 
hands  we  commend  our  spirit."  With 
hopes  and  expectations  above,  we  are  pre- 
served from  the  despondency  and  gloom 
which  the  disappointments  of  life  are  so 
apt  to  engender  ;  and  our  walk  becomes 
steady  with  the  eye  fixed  upon  the  star 
which  shines  with  its  cheering  light  upon 
our  path.  In  our  Lord's  ascension  into 
Heaven  we  have  the  assurance  that  the 
blessings  purchased  by  His  blood  are  borne 
above  as  a  sacred  trust,  where  the  world 
can  never  reach  them  with  its  temptations, 
nor  Satan  assail  them,  in  the  fury  of  his 
rage. 

It  is  not  a  little  touching  that  the  last  act 
of  our  Lord,  when  leaving  the  earth,  was 
to  bless  His  people  with  outstretched 
hands  ;  and  in  the  very  last  look  which  the 
disciples  had  of  Him,  as  the  clouds  re- 
ceived Him  out  of  their  sight,  He  was  still 


60  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

engaged  in  this  act  of  priestly,  benediction  : 
"and  he  lifted  up  his  hands,  and  blessed 
them ;  and  it  came  to  pass,  while  he 
blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from  them, 
and  carried  up  into  Heaven."  Through 
all  the  ages  from  that  day  to  this,  our  High 
Priest  is  standing  before  the  throne  of  His 
Father  with  His  priestly  blessing  still  drop- 
ping from  His  open  palm  upon  His  strug- 
gling Church.  With  this  vision  before  his 
eye,  how  can  the  believer  yield  to  despair, 
though  seemingly  crushed  beneath  the  sor- 
rows of  life  ?  Thus  does  the  Gospel  inspire 
the  soul  with  hope  even  in  the  darkest 
hour,  and  consistency  is  given  to  character 
even  to  the  end. 

My  young  friends,  when  the  claims  of 
personal  religion  are  pressed  upon  you,  I 
know  how  prone  you  are  to  say,  "  Not 
just  yet."  Your  thought  is  that  the  old 
who  are  sitting  upon  the  edge  of  the  preci- 
pice, their  feet  almost  touching  the  waters 
of  the  cold  river,  do  well  to  take  out  some 
sort  of  insurance  policy  against  the  risks 
which  are  just  before  them  ;  nay,  it  maybe 
wise  for  those  who  are  in  the  fierce  battle 
of  life  to  find  repose  in  leaning  upon  the 
bosom  of  a  Saviour.  But  as  for  you,  in 
the  effervescence  of  youth,  and  with  the 
world's  attractions  spread  around  you,  you 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    PIETY.  6 1 

wish  to  be  let  alone  for  a  season  until  these 
pleasures  shall  a  little  pall  upon  the  taste. 
Ah  !  that  you  could  know  the  true  secret 
of  happiness  here  on  earth.  The  whole 
Christian  world  rises  to  tell  you  that  there 
is  more  joy  in  the  repentance  of  a  sinner, 
than  in  those  vain  pleasures  which  the  wise 
Solomon  compares  to  ' '  the  crackling  of 
thorns  under  a  pot."  Not  all  the  frivo- 
lous enjoyments  of  earth  can  one  such  drop 
of  joy  afford  as  a  Christian  feels  when  he  is 
able  to  weep  over  forgiven  sin.  Accept 
the  testimony  of  the  old,  who  were  young 
once  like  you.  Accept  the  testimony  of 
him  who  is  now  addressing  you,  who  once 
fought  against  the  convictions  of  conscience 
rather  than  submit  to  the  authority  of 
Christ.  Believe  me,  it  is  no  professional 
utterance  I  bear  to  you  to-night.  It  is  not 
so  long  ago  I  held  up  my  hand  against 
God  and  warred  against  all  the  principles 
of  Grace  :  yet  I  am  here  to  proclaim  to  you 
the  testimony  of  the  universal  Church,  here 
on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven,  that  the 
secret  of  true  joy  is  to  be  found  alone  in 
the  pardon  of  sin  and  in  acceptance  with 
God. 


LECTURE   IV. 

OBLIGATION     ARISING     FROM     A 
PIOUS    ANCESTRY. 


2  Timothy  i.  15 — "  When  I  call  to  remembrance  the 
unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee  which  dwelt  first  in  thy 
grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother  Eunice. ," 

Before  entering  upon  the  subject  of  this 
evening's  Lecture,  I  desire  to  present  to 
the  young  men  before  me  the  Apostle 
Paul  as  strikingly  illustrating  all  I  have 
said  upon  the  importance  of  character  and 
upon  the  elements  which  enter  into  it. 
Intellectually  and  morally  he  was  of  mas- 
sive proportions  ;  strong  in  his  convictions, 
which  were  not  allowed  to  slumber  in  his 
bosom,  but  were  wrought  into  all  the  ac- 
tivities of  life  ;  he  stands  out  like  an  island 
rising  up  from  the  sea.  Even  in  his  earliest 
career,  what  an  intense  Jew  he  was  !  "  An 
Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  ;  as  touching  the 
law,  a  Pharisee  ;  concerning  zeal,  perse- 
cuting the  Church  "  —  such  is  the  portrait 
drawn  by  his  own  hand  of  himself.  But 
when  by  Divine  grace  he  is  brought  to  the 


64      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

feet  of  Jesus,  what  life-long  devotion  does 
he  display  in  "  preaching  the  faith  which 
once  he  destroyed?"  During  three  years 
in  the  solitudes  of  Arabia  studying  the 
symbols  of  the  Old  Dispensation,  he  comes 
forth  from  that  strange  school  under  the 
power  of  one  ruling  idea  :  carrying  the  truth 
that  the  Gospel  was  for  all  mankind,  against 
the  opinions  and  prejudices  of  the  world, 
he  established  the  catholicity  of  Christian- 
ity. With  incredible  toil  and  sacrifice  he 
proclaimed  "the  fellowship  of  the  mys- 
tery, which  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  had  been  hid  in  God,  who  created 
all  things  by  Jesus  Christ ;"  in  whom  hence- 
forth "there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female  ;  for  all  are  one  in 
Christ  Jesus. "  Yet  what  strange  gentle- 
ness nestles  in  this  rugged  character  ! 
Throughout  these  two  Pastoral  Epistles  he 
breathes  the  most  tender  affection  to  one 
whom  he  calls  his  "son;"  and  in  the 
verse  immediately  preceding  the  text, 
refers  with  touching  pathos  to  the  tears  of 
Timothy,  as  he  lay  upon  his  bosom  at  the 
hour  of  parting.  What  a  picture  is  here, 
as  the  strong  warrior  of  the  Cross  takes 
into  his  loving  arms  the  young  disciple 
who  weeps  under  the  paternal  benediction 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  65 

which  falls  from  those  polemic  lips  !  What 
a  strange  combination  in  the  after  history 
between  the  two  :  this  tender  nursling  by 
the  side  of  the  rugged  athlete,  his  confi- 
dential friend  and  the  companion  of  his 
travels ;  then  located  at  Ephesus,  receiving 
these  affectionate  letters  which  shall  guide 
and  cheer  the  young  pastor  amid  the  trials 
of  his  responsible  and  difficult  field.  If  we 
should  ever  be  disposed  to  regard  rugged- 
ness  of  character  incompatible  with  the 
tenderness  of  love,  let  the  delusion  be  dis- 
pelled as  you  view  the  gentle  Timothy  in 
the  embrace  of  the  massive  Paul. 

In  the  text,  however,  Timothy  is  pre- 
sented as  standing  in  the  line  of  a  pious 
descent,  from  his  grandmother  Lois,  and 
through  his  mother  Eunice  :  which  prop- 
erly introduces  the  topic  upon  which  I  de- 
sire to  address  you  to-night,    to- wit :    the 

OBLIGATION  RESTING  UPON  THE  YOUNG  WHO 
ARE  BORN  OF  A  PIOUS  ANCESTRY. 

I.  Consider,  then,  tlic  greater  probability  of 
conversion  with  those  who  come  of  a  godly 
parentage.  Of  course,  you  understand  that 
piety  is  not  hereditary  :  it  does  not  descend 
with  the  blood.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Gospel  has  the  same  work  to  do  in  each 
Let    us    suppose   that   at  the 


66      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

moment  I  am  speaking,  every  adult  on  the 
globe  should  be  a  Christian — and  not  only 
every  adult,  but  every  child  old  enough  to 
understand  the  terms  of  salvation — bring 
all  these  before  you  as  included  within  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  how  long  would  the 
world  stay  converted  ?  Just  as  soon  as 
this  favored  generation  has  passed  away 
and  another  generation  is  born,  the  Gospel 
is  called  to  the  new  enterprise  of  bringing 
each  individual  of  this  also  under  the  influ- 
ence of  saving  truth.  Let  this  be  pon- 
dered by  those  who  mock  at  Christianity, 
because  of  its  slow  progress  in  converting 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  When  was  such 
a  momentous  task  ever  assigned  to  an  or- 
ganized society,  as  we  find  laid  upon  the 
Church  of  the  Redeemer  ?  All  who  are 
born  upon  earth  are  born  with  a  depraved 
nature,  needing  to  be  renewed  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  and  this  work 
must  be  performed  upon  every  individual 
of  the  countless  millions  composing  each 
generation  successively  coming  into  the 
world.  It  is  a  work  constantly  renewed, 
as  often  as  it  is  performed  ;  always  begin- 
ning, and  never  finished  until  time  itself 
shall  cease.  Evidently,  therefore,  piety 
does  not  flow  in  the  way  of  carnal  descent : 
it  does  not  follow  that  because  the  father 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  6"j 

is  a  Christian,  the  son  shall  be  the  heir  of 
his  faith  ;  nor  that  the  daughter  will  pos- 
sess the  traits  of  a  godly  mother.  Yet  the 
grand  fact  remains,  standing  out  promi- 
nently in  history,  that  the  Church  is  largely 
perpetuated  through  the  conversion  of 
those  born  within  her  pale. 

This  may  be  partially  explained  upon 
the  principle  that  grace  sanctifies  all  the 
relations  and  ties  of  life  ;  and  turns  them 
all  into  instrumentalities  for  the  salvation  of 
those  around  us.  Every  soul  brought  into 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  touches  a  larger  or 
smaller  circle  of  those  who  are  near  at 
hand :  and  thus  the  current  of  influence 
flows  through  innumerable  channels  of 
tender  and  affectionate  intercourse  ;  so  that 
few  are  so  remote  as  not  to  feel  in  some 
degree  the  power  of  Divine  truth.  But 
the  final  solution  of  this  problem  is  unques- 
tionably to  be  found  in  the  promise  of 
Jehovah's  covenant,  "I  will  be  a  God  to 
thee  and  thy  seed  after  thee.  "  What  adds 
to  the  preciousness  of  this  promise  made 
to  the  Church,  is  that  it  is  a  perpetual 
promise,  transferred  from  generation  to 
generation  through  succeeding  ages.  Nay, 
more  :  whilst  in  the  administration  of  His 
government  God  ' '  visits  the  iniquity  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third 


68  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate 
him,"  He  is  "the  faithful  God  which 
keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  with  them 
that  love  him  and  keep  his  command- 
ments, to  a  thousand  generations."  His 
judgments  upon  the  wicked  are  thus  seen 
tempered  with  mercy  ;  but  in  the  outflow 
of  His  love,  there  is  no  limit  to  the  bles- 
sings secured  in  His  covenant  to  His  peo- 
ple. In  "the  families  that  call  upon  His 
name,"  there  is  a  special  blessing  for  the 
children  upon  whose  brow  the  seal  of  the 
kingdom  has  been  impressed  ;  and  upon 
this  gracious  principle  we  understand  how 
it  is,  that  those  born  of  a  pious  ancestry 
are  so  largely  led  in  the  way  of  salvation. 
You  perceive,  then,  my  young  friends, 
how  peremptory  is  the  obligation  resting 
upon  those  of  you  who  issue  from  Chris- 
tian homes.  As  I  speak,  it  may  be  that 
the  image  of  a  godly  father  rises  before 
you,  or  the  still  more  tender  remembrance 
of  a  dear  mother,  who  have  passed  from 
your  embrace  into  the  skies  above.  By 
the  sacredness  of  those  memories  I  would 
press  upon  your  conscience  and  heart  the 
duty  of  possessing  their  faith  and  their 
hope.  By  the  seal  of  that  covenant,  which 
through  them  binds  you  to  the  service  of 
God,  I  would  adjure  you  to  assume  and  to 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  69 

discharge  the  supreme  obligation  it  im- 
poses. If  perchance  you  descend  from  an 
ancestry  which  has  been  godly  from  genera- 
tions back,  remember  that  the  argument 
gathers  force  by  the  very  accumulation  of 
influences  from  the  mother  that  bore  you, 
and  from  the  grandmother  that  bore  her, 
and  from  the  ancestors  lying  further  back  ; 
all  urging  upon  you  the  obligation  to  serve 
and  to  worship  the  God  of  your  fathers. 
How  can  it  be,  that  you  shall  have  grown 
to  manhood  and  assumed  all  the  other 
responsibilities  of  life,  without  recognizing 
the  higher  duties  which  spring  from  the 
privilege  of  birth  under  the  seal  of  Jeho- 
vah's covenant  in  a  Christian  home  ? 

1 1 .  Consider  again  the  benefit  derived  from 
the  prayers  of  pious  parents  and  of  godly 
ancestors.  We  naturally  seek  to  trace  the 
connection  between  prayer  and  its  answer. 
It  is  not  satisfactory  to  find  that  connection 
simply  in  the  reflex  influence  upon  the 
petitioner.  Undoubtedly,  prayer  does  pre- 
pare us  to  receive  the  blessings  of  a  kind 
Providence,  but  this  cannot  be  its  whole 
design  and  effect.  Whether  we  understand 
it  or  not,  when  we  bend  the  knee  before 
God  in  secret,  we  feel  that  a  real  tie  exists 
between  the  petition  offered  and  the  bene- 


yO  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

fits  afterward  bestowed — that  somehow  in 
the  economy  which  God  has  established 
the  prayer  is  of  account  before  Him,  and 
has  a  determining  agency  in  securing  the 
blessings  we  implore.  Even  in  the  natural 
sphere  no  want  is  supplied,  until  it  is 
recognized.  Hunger  must  precede  the 
enjoyment  of  food  ;  we  are  thirsty  before 
we  can  drink  ;  and  until  the  eyelids  are 
worn  down  with  fatigue,  sleep  is  a  stranger 
to  our  couch.  The  Divine  Being  seems  to 
have  established  these  conditions  upon 
which  earthly  blessings  are  conferred  ;  and 
by  analog)^  we  may  expect  that  our  spiritual 
wants  will  not  be  met,  until  they  are  felt 
and  are  distinctly  acknowledged.  This 
thought  may  be  pressed  a  little  further. 
God  is  a  Sovereign,  and  moves  under  the 
promptings  of  His  own  will.  "  He  giveth 
not  account  of  His  matters;"  but  requires 
of  all  intelligent  creatures  that  they  shall 
submit  to  His  authority  and  acknowledge 
the  supremacy  of  His  will.  Whether, 
therefore,  we  can  explain  the  mysteries  of 
Providence  or  not,  we  are  compelled  in  the 
dependence  of  our  nature  to  cast  ourselves 
upon  His  wisdom  and  His  strength.  It  is 
of  His  own  munificence  that  blessings  are 
bestowed  upon  men,  who  have  forfeited 
every  claim  upon  His  favor  ;  and  His  grace, 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  7  I 

no  less  than  His  Sovereignty,  should  be 
acknowledged,  and  man's  responsibility  in 
reference  to  the  same  must  be  brought  out 
in  the  duty  of  prayer.  A  substantive  and 
true  connection  is  thus  shown  to  exist 
between  the  prayer  and  its  answer — a  true 
relation  between  the  petitioner  on  earth  and 
the  "  Father  of  lights  from  whom  cometh 
down  every  good  and  perfect  gift." 

How  many  prayers  are  offered  in  every 
pious  home,  accumulating  the  obligation 
which  rests  upon  those  brought  up  in  the 
same  !  It  is  written  in  the  Scriptures  that 
the  tears  of  God's  people  are  put  in  His 
bottle,  and  that  ' '  a  book  of  remembrance 
is  written  before  him  for  them  that 
fear  him  and  think  upon  his  name."  Who 
can  tell  how  these  remembered  tears  and 
prayers  may  prove  a  shield  to  many  of  you, 
sheltering  from  dangers  and  snares  of  which 
you  little  dream  ?  And  what  a  fearful 
doom  awaits  those  who  will  face  these 
unanswered  petitions  at  the  judgment-seat ! 
Oh,  young  man,  lift  up  that  profane  foot 
which  perhaps  is  trampling  on  a  dead 
mother's  supplications  ;  which,  though 
looked  upon  with  indifference  by  you,  are 
written  in  God's  book  of  remembrance  as 
a  challenge  for  your  obedience  and 
homage.    As  they  are  recorded  in  Heaven, 


7  2  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

let  them  be  a  sign  for  blessing  and  not  for 
woe  ;  that  they  may  yet  be  answered  in 
your  conversion  and  final  salvation. 

III.  Consider,  further,  the  obligation 
arising  front  the  training  and  example  of 
sainted  parents.  I  use  the  term,  "  training," 
because  it  includes  the  two  elements  upon 
which  I  desire  to  insist.  There  are  the 
counsels  which  we  receive  from  those  wiser 
than  ourselves,  and  in  the  case  of  parents 
there  is  the  discipline  with  which  these 
counsels  are  enforced.  Just  as  the  mind  is 
opening  to  recognize  the  truth,  a  matured 
mind  is  at  our  side  already  charged  with 
the  truth  and  holding  it  in  the  form  of  love 
for  the  more  ready  communication  of  it. 
A  fountain  is  provided  in  the  very  home 
in  which  we  were  born,  sending  forth  its 
magnetic  waters  to  stimulate  and  refresh 
the  young  inquirers  who  drink  and  bathe 
in  the  same.  Remember,  too,  that  the 
knowledge  thus  pouring  upon  the  plastic 
mind  of  the  child,  is  not  the  knowledge 
derived  from  books,  nor  yet  drawn  from 
life's  experience  ;  but  it  is  also  that  higher 
knowledge  which  is  bestowed  through  the 
teaching  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  These 
Christian  guides  who  stand  by  us  from  the 
cradle    till    manhood    is    reached,    have    a 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  73 

spiritual  discernment  of  God's  holy  truth  ; 
and  at  every  moment  in  our  childhood's 
growth  they  have  been  imparting  this 
knowledge  to  us. 

Nor  should  the  value  of  authority  be 
overlooked  which,  before  parental  counsels 
can  be  rationally  apprehended,  enforces 
them  with  a  consistent  and  wholesome 
discipline.  During  the  years  when  char- 
acter is  unfolding  we  are  under  this  gentle 
pressure,  which  moulds  and  shapes  the 
will  without  binding  its  action  or  fettering 
its  freedom — only  breathing  around  us  the 
moral  atmosphere  necessary  to  the  exercise 
of  all  the  faculties  with  which  we  are  en- 
dowed. Before  We  have  intelligence  enough 
to  frame  resistance  to  this  mild  control,  we 
have  learned  the  first  great  lesson  of  human 
life  in  the  submission  of  the  will  to  lawful 
and  needful  authority.  With  this  self- 
control  we  are  in  a  measure  fitted  to  assume 
the  responsibilities  of  life,  through  which 
we  are  brought  in  contact  with  our  fellow- 
men. 

So  far,  then,  as  regards  the  training  of  a 
Christian  home,  under  the  double  aspect 
of  instruction  and  discipline.  But  beyond 
all  this,  there  is  the  exemplification  of 
goodness  and  virtue  in  the  character  of 
godly  parents.      No  influence  can  be  more 


74  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

pervading  than  that  of  personal  character  ; 
which,  like  the  light,  is  the  more  effective 
because  of  the  silence  in  which  it  moves. 
It  is  virtue  not  in  dogma  or  precept,  chal- 
lenging the  scepticism  of  the  mind 
or  the  antagonism  of  the  will  ;  but  it 
is  virtue  incarnate,  living,  breathing,  and 
showing  its  power  in  every  act.  Who  can 
wholly  resist  an  influence  like  this,  always 
present  and  ever  penetrating — insinuating 
itself  as  through  our  very  pores  until  it 
secretly  fashions  the  form  and  movement 
of  our  future  life  ?  Even  the  momentary 
touch  of  one  who  is  intellectually  stronger 
than  ourselves  galvanizes  by  the  contact. 
It  argues  a  nature  either  exceedingly  weak 
or  superlatively  strong,  which  does  not  feel 
the  electric  influence  flash  through  the 
frame  coming  from  a  mind  stronger  and 
nobler  than  our  own.  As  it  is  intellectually, 
so  it  is  morally.  The  moment  we  are 
brought  in  contact  with  a  positive  charac- 
ter, such  as  Paul's — a  character  always 
pronounced — always  under  the  control  of 
principles — always  a  character  moulded  by 
convictions  too  powerful  to  be  resisted — we 
cannot  touch  a  battery  like  this  without 
feeling  an  unwonted  energy  swiftly  per- 
vading our  own  being.  If  such  be  the 
effect    of   occasional    intercourse    with    an 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  75 

intellect  or  will  superior  to  ours,  what  must 
be  the  influence  of  permanent  association 
with  those  who  shape  our  entire  nature 
from  the  cradle  to  mature  age  ?  My  young 
friend,  there  stands  before  your  eye  the 
image  of  a  father  who,  in  your  earlier 
years,  was  to  you  in  the  place  of  God.  I 
pause  a  little  under  the  solemnity  of  the 
utterance,  which  involves  a  reciprocal  and 
fearful  responsibility.  There  is  a  brief 
period  in  the  history  of  every  child,  when 
he  knows  no  other  authority  but  that  of 
the  parent,  and  recognizes  no  other  Provi- 
dence save  that  of  parental  watchfulness  and 
care.  If  the  parent  trembles  under  the  as- 
sumption of  such  a  trust  as  that  of  being- 
God's  representative  to  the  child,  who  can 
measure  the  equal  responsibility  of  resist- 
ing the  infinite  Jehovah  as  expressed  in 
the  authority  and  piety  of  the  parent  ?  If 
any  of  you  before  me  to-night  call  up  the 
memory  of  a  pious  home  with  its  godly 
training,  I  implore  you  to  prepare  for  the 
account  to  be  rendered  for  such  a  privilege 
at  the  bar  of  judgment. 

I V.  In  estimating  the  influence  of  a  Chris- 
tian home,  consider  also  the  sweet  associations 
with  the  good  and  the  stimulus  it  afforded. 
Remember    that    every    household    is    the 


y6  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

centre  of  an  outer  circle,  in  which  the 
associations  woven  around  the  parent 
are  also  woven  around  the  child.  These 
are  often  the  most  shaping  influence  of 
early  childhood.  If  you  will  pardon  a 
reference  to  my  own  personal  experience, 
I  recall  among  the  most  distinct  and  pleas- 
ing memories  of  my  youth  the  conversa- 
tions I  was  permitted  to  hear  between  my 
father  and  his  ministerial  friends  sometimes* 
gathered  around  the  evening  fireside.  As 
far  back  as  my  memory  goes  I  bring  before 
me  the  pleasant  circle,  as  I  sat  in  my  little 
chair  in  the  shadow,  unnoticed  by  all, 
drinking  in  with  eyes  and  ears  the  wisdom 
poured  forth  from  those  consecrated  lips  ; 
the  influence  of  which  toned  my  whole  life, 
and  the  sweetness  of  which  is  upon  my 
tongue  to-night.  Bear  in  mind  that  we  do 
not  begin  to  count  in  the  world's  estima- 
tion, until  we  are  found  in  conjunction  with 
others.  Take  any  single  number  by  itself, 
and  what  is  its  value  ?  It  is  two,  or  three, 
or  four,  or  six,  or  nine  ;  but  as  long  as  it 
stands  alone,  it  is  that  and  no  more.  But 
place  even  a  cipher  behind  it,  and  you 
multiply  it  tenfold.  So  it  is  in  society. 
When  we  are  brought  together  in  close 
fellowship  one  with  another,  in  the  influence 
re-echoing    between    the    two    we    have   a 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  JJ 

numerical  value  given  to  us  never  enjoyed 
in  our  individual  sphere.  Hence  the  sweet- 
ness and  power  of  these  early  Christian 
associations,  which  linger  in  the  memory 
with  an  influence  always  in  favor  of  virtue 
and  truth. 

V.  Fiji  ally,  1  suggest  the  relation  of  a 
pious  home  to  future  happiness  in  Heaven 
Of  course,  our  earthly  relations  terminate 
at  death  :  our  Lord  impressively  teaches 
that  "in  the  Resurrection  they  neither 
marry,  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are 
as  the  angels  of  God." 

But  while  the  earthly  relations  are  abol- 
ished, the  spiritual  ties  which  spring  out  of 
them  are  not  cancelled.  If  the  future  world 
be  a  world  of  retribution,  as  we  are  distinctly 
taught  in  Holy  Scripture,  then  memory 
will  abide  ;  and  with  memory  there  will  be 
in  Heaven  a  complete  transfiguration  of 
our  earthly  affections  and  associations.  If 
I  can  go  back  to  the  period  of  childhood 
and  recognize  that  under  God  I  owe  all 
that  I  am  to  the  influence  of  a  godly 
mother,  will  not  this  spiritual  tie  forever 
bind  me  to  her  as  to  no  other  of  the  re- 
deemed in  glory  ?  If  the  children  of  my 
loins  have  passed,  through  my  moulding 
influence    as    an   instrumental  agency,  into 


yS  FORMATION    OF  .CHARACTER. 

the  kingdom  of  Grace,  then  surely  the 
spiritual  tie  will  be  as  distinctly  recognized 
in  Heaven  as  upon  earth.  If,  as  the  Master 
has  told  us,  there  are  "mansions  in  our 
Father's  House  "  prepared  for  them  that 
love  Him,  we  shall  surely  be  closely  asso- 
ciated with  those  with  whom  our  Christian 
life  was  most  closely  blended    upon  earth. 

If,  moreover,  our  heavenly  joy  should 
prove  the  outcome  of  pious  influences 
accumulating  through  past  generations, 
from  sire  to  grand-sire  back  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generation  of  those  who  were 
all  the  children  of  God,  how  will  the  family 
swell  into  a  great  tribe  bound  eternally 
together  in  a  sacred  relationship  ?  Ah,  my 
friends,  if  the  family  be  the  original  society 
in  which  God  first  planted  the  Church  — if 
in  the  relations  of  the  family  He  illustrates 
His  adopting  love,  by  which  we  become 
His  children  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  can  tell 
how  the  spiritual  ties  of  the  earthly  home 
may  be  glorified  above  ?  And  who  can 
deny  but  that  from  these  transfigured  affec- 
tions our  joy  will  be  increased  as  we  wor- 
ship before  the  throne  ? 

In  bringing  this  Lecture  to  a  close,  you 
will  perceive  that  the  whole  argument  may 
be  reduced  within  the  compass  of  a  brief 
but    familiar    maxim,    "Noblesse   oblige." 


A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY.  79 

Rank  carries  with  it  its  unchangeable 
obligations.  You  expect  the  son  of  a  king 
to  behave  as  becomes  his  royal  blood.  The 
nobility  of  his  station  pledges  him  to  a 
noble  demeanor.  You  are  justly  disap- 
pointed if,  in  a  child  born  of  cultivated 
parents,  you  do  not  find  the  wisdom  which 
should  be  displayed  in  all  his  words  and 
actions.  What  then  do  we  not  owe  to 
that  Providence  which  has  given  us  our 
birth  in  a  Christian  home  ?  And  does  not 
this  oblige  us  to  a  Christian  life  answering 
to  our  privilege  of  birth  ?  How  unspeak- 
able the  shame  of  a  son  who  confesses 
himself  unworthy  of  the  father  who  begat 
him  !  Young  men,  if  you  are  born  of  godly 
parentage,  you  have  a  patent  of  nobility 
greater  than  an  earthly  kingdom  can 
bestow.  In  the  sovereignty  of  God  you 
are  born  of  Christian  parents  in  a  Christian 
land,  whilst  myriads  came  to  the  light  under 
some  heathen  god.  Surely  this  distin- 
guished mercy  throws  upon  you  a  corres- 
ponding obligation  to  engage  in  the  service 
and  worship  of  the  living  and  true  God. 
It  will  be  a  fearful  doom,  to  find  yourselves 
separated  forever  from  those  whose  faith  and 
piety  should  have  been  your  eternal  heri- 
tage. May  God  avert  it  through  His 
infinite  mercy  and  grace  ! 


LECTURE   V. 

OBLIGATION  ARISING   FROM  THE 
TRUSTS  OF  LIFE. 


I  John  ii  14—"/  have  written  unto  you,  young  men, 
because  ye  are  strong-" 

In  this  instructive  chapter,  the  Apostle 
presses  several  things  upon  the  attention 
of  Christians.  He  shows  how  utterly- 
worthless  is  a  religious  profession,  which  is 
not  marked  by  reverential  and  loving 
obedience  to  the  Divine  law.  If  however 
any  be  surprised  into  sin,  refuge  may  be 
found  in  the  Atonement  and  Intercession 
of  Christ :  "If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous  ;  and  he  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world."  From  this  the 
Apostle  passes  to  the  more  particular  duty 
of  brotherly  love  ;  which  he  enjoins  as  both 
an  old  and  a  new  commandment.  It  is  an 
old  commandment,  inasmuch  as  love  from 
the  beginning  was  the  root  from  which  all 
obedience  must    spring:    "  thou  shalt  love 


82      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and 
with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This 
is  the  first  and  great  commandment.  And 
the  second  is  like  unto  it,  thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets."  It  is  a  new  commandment,  in 
that  it  is  enforced  under  a  new  sanction 
and  by  a  new  motive — even  the  love  of 
Christ  Himself  to  a  lost  world  in  "giving 
His  life  a  ransom  for  many."  To  make 
these  admonitions  more  impressive,  He 
distributes  the  Church  into  three  leading 
classes;  "the  little  children,"  or  those 
just  brought  into  the  kingdom — "the 
Fathers,"  who  have  had  long  experience 
of  the  truth  and  have  "  endured  hardness 
as  good  soldiers  of  Christ  " — and,  inter- 
mediate between  these,  those  whom  he 
styles  "  young  men  ;"  in  the  early  but  ripe 
development  of  their  Christian  experience, 
and  who  are  thus  equipped  for  all  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  life.  These  classes  are 
addressed  with  motives  especially  adapted 
to  each  :  the  young  believer,  because  he 
has  just  tasted  the  joy  of  pardon  in  the 
knowledge  of  God  as  his  Heavenly  Father  ; 
the  old  Christian,  because  he  has  had  such 
long  acquaintance  with  his  Saviour  and  is 
so  near  to  the    eternal  home  ;  the  young 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  83 

men,  because  their  piety  has  been  tested 
and  "the  word  of  God  abideth  in  them." 
Then  follows  the  grand  exhortation, to  which 
all  this  is  preliminary,  "  love  not  the  world, 
neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world." 
Here,  it  is  noticeable  that  he  makes  a 
three-fold  classification  of  the  temptations 
to  which  all  men  are  exposed  in  life  ;  which 
lie  in  the  pleasures,  or  the  profits,  or  the 
honors  of  the  world.  The  young  are  most 
in  danger  from  the  first,  classified  under 
the  title  of  "  the  lust  of  the  flesh  ;"  the  old 
are  in  peril  from  the  second,  indicated  as 
"  lust  of  the  eye,"  in  the  greedy  craving 
after  gain  ;  the  busy  actors  are  most  likely 
to  be  snared  by  "the  pride  of  life,"  in  the 
ambitious  endeavor  to  secure  the  vain 
honors  which  wither  in  the  first  hour  of 
enjoyment.  It  will  thus  appear  that  "the 
young  men  "  of  the  text  are  those  who  are 
enrolled  as  members  of  the  Church  of 
Christ;  but  it  is  not  an  unwarrantable 
extension  of  the  phrase  to  include  all  of 
the  class  which,  in  the  maturity  of  its 
strength,  is  about  to  assume  the  duties  and 
to  discharge  the  trusts  of  life.  I  am  thus 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  topic  of  this 
Lecture  ;  to  press  the  obligation  resting 

UPON  YOUNG  MEN  FROM  THE  FACT  OF 
THEIR  EQUIPMENT  FOR  THE  RESPONSIBILITIES 


84  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

WHICH  THEY  MUST  IMMEDIATELY  AND  NECES- 
SARILY UNDERTAKE. 

I.  Let  me  press  the  fact  itself  of  the 
necessity  for  action  on  the  part  of  young  men. 
The  world  in  which  they  live  is  a  world  of 
action.  Change  and  movement  are  every- 
where. The  very  globe  on  which  we  stand 
revolves  perpetually  on  its  own  axis  ;  whilst, 
in  the  system  to  which  it  belongs,  it  sweeps 
in  its  orbit  around  the  sun.  On  its  surface 
all  is  shifting  and  change.  "  The  sun  also 
ariseth,  and  the  sun  goeth  down,  and 
hasteth  to  his  place  where  he  arose.  The 
wind  goeth  toward  the  south,  and  turneth 
about  unto  the  north  ;  it  whirleth  about 
continually  ;  and  the  wind  returneth  again 
according  to  his  circuits.  All  the  rivers 
run  into  the  sea  ;  yet  the  sea  is  not  full  ; 
unto  the  place  from  whence  the  rivers 
come,  thither  they  return  again."  So  it  is 
in  the  orderings  of  Providence  :  ' '  one  gen- 
eration passeth  away,  and  another  genera- 
tion cometh."  If  you  stand  upon  the  plane 
of  history,  nations  and  kingdoms  move  to 
and  fro  like  figures  upon  a  chess-board  ; 
and  when  you  come  to  individuals,  they 
play  their  little  part  in  the  activities  of  life, 
and  melt  away  as  the  mist.  Everything 
partakes  of  movement.      Who  now  are  to 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  85 

be  the  chief  actors  on  this  stage  of  excite- 
ment and  whirl  ?  Not  the  old  who  have 
fought  their  way  through  this  life  of  storm 
and  battle,  and  are  about  to  strip  off  their 
armour  ;  but  those  who,  in  the  zenith  of 
their  strength,  are  facing  the  issues  which 
they  cannot  avoid.  There  are  many  rea- 
sons why  the  old  cannot  be  the  principal 
performers  upon  the  stage  which  they  are 
shortly  to  abandon.  First  of  all,  their 
physical  and  intellectual  vigor  is  upon  the 
decline.  True,  it  is  not  easy  to  draw 
the  line  at  which  vitality  begins  to  decay  ; 
just  as  we  cannot  determine  the  moment 
when  the  keel  of  the  ship  cuts  the 
equator  which  separates  two  continents. 
However  it  may  vary  in  different  cases, 
there  is  in  the  life  of  every  man  a  line 
which  divides  the  two  hemispheres  ;  a  point 
where  vitality  begins  to  decay,  indicating 
that  he  must  remit  the  burdens  and  cares 
of  life  to  more  youthful  and  competent 
workers.  Again,  the  old  lose  that  elasticity 
which  needs  only  the  removal  of  a  burden 
to  restore  the  toiler  to  his  original  activity, 
showing  that  no  injury  has  been  sustained 
under  the  pressure.  But  in  all  men  the 
point  is  reached  when  this  spring  of  elas- 
ticity is  weakened,  and  we  refuse  to  regain 
the  vigor  which  is  lost ;  and  this  inability 


86  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

discovers  to  us  that  our  duties  must  be 
devolved  upon  other  and  more  stalwart 
champions.  Nor  is  this  the  worst :  the 
care  and  sorrow  which  accumulate  upon 
the  old  impart  a  sombre  hue  to  life,  unfit- 
ting them  to  engage  longer  in  the  struggles 
that  remain.  They  are  not  able  to  accom- 
date  themselves  to  the  changes  of  time, 
and  to  do  in  the  future  what  they  resolutely 
performed  in  the  past.  They  have  ex- 
hausted the  world  of  all  it  has  to  give  ; 
they  have  sucked  the  orange  dry,  and  hold 
in  their  hand  only  the  squeezed  and  empty 
pulp.  Finally,  is  there  not  a  propriety  in 
the  old  retiring  from  the  dust  and  turmoil 
of  earth,  that  they  may  fix  their  thoughts 
and  hopes  upon  the  life  beyond  ?  As  the 
light  breaks  upon  them  from  another  world, 
should  they  not  have  leisure  to  lay  their 
hand  upon  that  solemn  future  and  weigh  the 
trusts  which  are  beckoning  them  above  the 
stars  ? 

If  this  world  is  to  be  a  world  of  action, 
to  whom  can  the  aged  remit  their  respon- 
sibilities except  to  the  sons  who  should 
inherit  the  names  and  destinies  of  the 
fathers  ?  These,  too,  are  prepared  to  as- 
sume the  imposed  burden.  They  have 
passed  through  the  discipline  of  their  early 
years,    they    have   been    educated    in    the 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  87 

school  of  obedience  and  self-control,  they 
have  been  shaped  for  all  the  contingencies 
of  the  future  under  parental  authority,  stern 
in  the  hand  of  the  father  but  gracious  and 
gentle  in  the  hand  of  the  mother — why 
should  they  not  be  ready  to  assume  and 
fulfil  the  most  sacred  trusts  which  society 
may  impose  ?  Does  not  this  fact  of  his 
equipment  for  the  life  upon  which  he  must 
of  necessity  enter,  hold  every  young  man 
responsible  for  fidelity  in  the  duties  from 
which  he  cannot  be  discharged  ? 

II.  Observe  further  that  we  must  take  up 
life  just  where  it  meets  us.  Nothing  is 
fortuitous  ;  God  is  sovereign  in  all  His  allot- 
ments. We  enter  upon  life  exactly  at  the 
point  where  we  touch  it.  Like  a  party 
crossing  a  river,  the  moment  we  strike  the 
opposite  shore  we  must  land.  It  may  be 
where  a  thicket,  thorny  as  a  Mexican 
Chapparal,  grows  down  to  the  water's 
edge ;  and  right  there  we  must  cut  our 
way  through  to  the  inviting  plains  beyond. 
The  introduction  of  one  into  life  may  be 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  ; 
he  may  be  born  of  parents  having  liberal 
views,  who  have  given  him  the  advantage 
of  the  highest  education,  who  have  set  be- 
fore   him    the    example  of  the  noblest  en- 


88      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

durance,  and  whose  potent  influence  may 
lift  him  into  position  at  once  ;  or  he 
may  be  born  of  parents  poor  and  obscure, 
who  have  been  able  to  afford  no  oppor- 
tunities for  improvement,  and  who  can 
wield  no  influence  for  his  promotion  ;  yet 
the  one  and  the  other  must  take  the  chances 
for  success,  under  the  precise  conditions 
in  which  life  presents  itself.  As  I  look 
around  me  upon  the  young  men  in  this 
city  struggling  for  a  foot-hold  in  the  world, 
my  deepest  sympathy  is  stirred  for  those 
boys  of  fourteen  and  fifteen  years,  who 
through  stern  poverty  are  driven  out  upon 
life — whom  a  hard  necessity  has  deprived 
of  their  childhood,  never  having  had  their 
run  in  the  free  air,  rejoicing  in  the  exuber- 
ant freshness  of  youth's  early  morning,  but 
who  under  the  pressure  of  premature  care 
are  old  before  they  were  young.  Yet  how 
many  true  heroes,  through  this  severe  dis- 
cipline, have  carved  their  way  to  dignity 
and  station  ?  Under  this  pressure  are 
fashioned  the  men  of  brain,  solving-  the  most 
intricate  problems  of  life  ;  the  men  of  mus- 
cular will,  whose  sharp  sword  cleaves 
through  at  a  stroke  the  complications  of  an 
unpropitious  destiny. 

What  need,  then,  has  every  young  man 
for  a  firm  character,  full  of  faith  and  hope, 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  89 

strong  in  its  principles  and  settled  in  its 
purposes,  as  he  enters  upon  the  respon- 
sibilities of  life  ?  Let  him  abandon  useless 
complaints  against  what  he  terms  inexor- 
able fate,  as  well  as  false  conceptions  of 
what  he  calls  luck  or  chance.  Let  him  re- 
solve to  conquer  fortune,  even  if  she  meet 
him  with  a  frown  ;  for  only  thus  can  life  be 
mastered  at  all.      Young  men — 

"  A  sacred  burden  is  this  life  ye  bear, 
Look  on  it,  lift  it,  bear  it  solemnly, 
Stand  up  and  walk  beneath  it  steadfastly, 
Fail  not  for  sorrow,   falter  not  for  sin, 
But  onward,  upward,   till  the  goal  ye  win." 

III.  Consida'  also  the  debt  we  owe  to  the 
past,  whose  cumulative  influence  has  made 
the  present  what  it  is  An  honorable  senti- 
ment must  respond  to  the  claims  of  those 
who  have  gone  before,  handing  down  their 
trusts  to  us.  There  can  be  no  haphazard 
or  accident  in  the  government  of  that  au- 
gust Being  who  ' '  doeth  according  to  his 
will  in  the  army  of  heaven  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;"  and  surely  those 
creatures  are  not  abandoned  to  chance, 
who  are  ' '  made  in  his  image  and  after  his 
likeness."  If  our  reason  be  the  reflection 
of  the  Divine  intelligence,  if  our  conscience 
be  the  interpreter  of  His  holiness,  if  our 
will  be  the  shadow   of   His  omnipotence, 


90  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

then  it  becomes  us  to  take  up  the  duties  of 
life  in  the  solemnity  of  that  high  relation 
we  sustain  to  Him  whose  image  we  bear 
on  earth.  Life  has  come  down  to  us 
through  a  long  succession,  deriving  its  cast 
and  color  from  those  who  preceded  us  ; 
and  we  have  "  entered  into  their  labors." 
Yes,  we  owe  a  debt  to  the  past,  we  are 
under  obligations  to  the  ancestors  from 
whose  loins  we  sprang.  Every  father  leaves 
to  the  son,  who  is  his  heir,  the  obligation 
of  family  honor  to  transmit  that  name  un- 
tarnished to  those  who  shall  come  after ; 
and  in  a  large  sense  we  are  the  heirs  of  the 
generations  which  have  trodden  the  earth 
from  the  first  moment  of  recorded  time. 
The  pressure  of  sixty  centuries  rests  upon 
the  conscience  and  heart  of  all  who  now 
sustain  the  burden  of  the  world's  history. 
Ancestry  ought  to  mean  something  ;  and 
if  the  subject  of  this  evening's  Lecture  does 
not  lift  into  prominence  the  higher  consid- 
erations which  are  drawn  from  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  I  feel  it  right  to  appeal  to  that 
sentiment  of  honor  with  which  every  noble 
heart  swells. 

IV.  The  last  proposition  may  now  be 
reversed  :  if,  as  heirs,  zve  ozve  a  debt  to  the 
pasty  as  ancestors  zve  are  under  equal  obliga- 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  9 1 

Hon  to  the  future.  As  our  hands  are  rev- 
erentially stretched  forth  to  take  the  trusts 
falling  from  the  hands  of  our  fathers,  so 
the  day  is  approaching  when  our  half- 
discharged  obligations  must  be  rolled  over 
upon  those  who  are  born  of  our  loins. 
When  those  children  shall  arise  to  assume 
the  self-imposed  trust,  it  will  be  for  them 
to  pronounce  upon  our  fidelity,  and  to  de- 
clare whether  it  has  been  honorably  trans- 
ferred from  our  keeping  into  theirs.  Each 
generation  stands  thus  upon  a  narrow 
isthmus  between  the  two  continents  of  the 
past  and  the  future  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
decide  to  which  of  the  two  the  obligation 
is  the  more  solemn.  In  the  one  direction, 
it  reaches  back  over  the  centuries  up  to  the 
beginning  of  time  ;  in  the  other  direction,  it 
stretches  forward  to  the  consummation  of 
all  things,  when  the  ' '  angel  standing  upon 
the  sea  and  the  earth  shall  swear  by  Him 
that  liveth  forever  and  ever  that  there  shall 
be  time  no  longer. "  If  in  the  one  case  the 
obligation  is  enhanced  by  the  feeling  of 
reverence,  in  the  other  it  is  enforced  by  the 
natural  affection  cherished  towards  one's 
offspring.  The  law  of  the  Scripture  is, 
"  the  children  ought  not  to  lay  up  for  the 
parents,  but  the  parents  for  the  children  ;" 
and  under  this   rule  the    debt  we    owe  to 


92      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

posterity  is  of  sacred  and  binding  character. 
Let  no  one  enter  upon  life  thinking  that  he 
liveth  only  to  himself.  The  race  is  linked 
together  in  solid  unity  ;  and  the  unfaithful- 
ness of  one  generation  may  entail  woes 
upon  those  that  follow,  which  shall  draw 
upon  its  head  the  bitterest  execrations.  It 
becomes  every  young  man  to  be  serious 
and  thoughtful,  as  he  weighs  the  duties 
devolved  upon  him  in  the  great  drama  of 
life. 

V.  Permit  me  now  to  dwell  upon  the 
gravity  of  the  trusts  imposed  often  without 
our  consent,  but  from  which  there  is  no  retreat. 
There  are  obligations  which  we  voluntarily 
contract  ;  as  when,  stepping  from  the  pa- 
ternal home  to  create  our  own,  we  clothe 
ourselves  with  responsibilities  of  the  most 
tender  and  delicate  kind.  It  is  not  my 
purpose,  however,  to  speak  of  these  ;  but 
rather  of  those  imposed  by  society,  usually 
dropped  upon  us  suddenly  often  against 
our  will.  A  word  of  wisdom  uttered  in  a 
moment  of  perplexity  and  trial,  marks  one 
as  fit  to  be  a  counsellor  and  guide  ;  and 
when  enthroned  in  the  seat  of  the  legis- 
lator or  judge,  there  is  no  escape  from  the 
responsibility  which  accrues.  Or,  it  may 
be    that   in   some   public   emergency,    one 


TRUSTS    OF    LIFE.  93 

displays  a  promptness  and  energy  which 
at  once  determine  his  destiny.  He  is  called 
to  executive  functions,  and  his  record  be- 
comes a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. Thus,  a  man  "wakes  up 
some  morning  to  find  himself  famous;" 
and  though  he  may  tremble  in  his  secret 
soul  lest  he  be  found  unequal  to  the  high 
positions  to  which  he  has  been  so  unex- 
pectedly advanced,  he  must  abide  in  his  lot 
and  either  do  or  die.  My  young  friends, 
I  know  not  what  counsel  to  give  in  this 
matter,  except  to  say,  let  a  young  man  see 
to  it  when  he  steps  forth  into  life,  that 
his  principles  are  fixed  and  his  character 
formed.  With  this  antecedent  preparation, 
he  will  readily  fit  himself  for  the  duties 
which  are  suddenly  sprung  upon  him  ;  and 
will  not  be  overwhelmed  with  shame  under 
the  discomfiture  which  he  dreads. 

VI.  Finally,  I  urge  upon  you  the  solemn 
issues  of  the  eternal  zvorld  ;  lying  so  close  to 
the  young,  and  for  which  they  are  in  imme- 
diate preparation.  I  am  aware  that  a  young- 
man  of  twenty  feels  that  a  stretch  of  twenty 
years  is  an  age  ;  yet  when  he  comes  to 
forty,  he  is  as  though  he  had  not  escaped 
the  awkwardness  of  early  youth  ;  he  looks 
through  the  vista  of  another  twenty  years, 
and  at  sixty  feels   that   the   experience  of 


94  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

years  has  but  just  fitted  him  for  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  life.  At  last  bending  under 
the  weight  of  fourscore  years,  he  discovers 
that  life  is  gone.  Swifter  than  the  shadow 
cast  upon  our  path,  swifter  than  the  eagle's 
flight  to  his  eyrie  on  the  mountain-top,  is 
the  flight  of  time  ;  and  life  is  spent  before 
it  is  half-recognized  as  begun.  Ere  we 
know,  with  a  single  bound  we  are  pre- 
cipitated upon  the  dread  realities  which  lie 
behind  death  and  the  judgment.  I  desire 
to  impress  upon  you  the  startling  truth  that 
these  eternal  responsibilities  are  nigh  to 
you  even  before  you  have  attained  your 
majority.  The  moment  character  begins 
to  crystallize  in  its  final  shape,  it  reaches 
forth  to  the  life  beyond  "unmeasured  by 
the  flight  of  years."  It  is  not  wise  for 
those  whose  lives  are  so  short  on  earth,  to 
put  out  of  sight  the  tremendous  issues  of 
an  eternal  state.  Our  real  life  is  the  life 
that  never  ends,  in  the  great  hereafter. 
We  begin  to  live  when  the  risen  body  and 
the  immortal  spirit  are  forever  emancipated 
from  the  decree  of  death.  The  life  is  life, 
which  is  rescued  from  the  curse  of  sin  and 
is  spent  forever  in  the  presence  and  in  the 
joy  of  our  Father  above.  Beyond  the  in- 
termediate duties  which  press  upon  you 
here,  I  urge  those  immense  trusts  which 
will  occupy  the  ages  of  eternity. 


LECTURE   VI. 

OBSTACLES   TO    PIETY  IN   YOUNG 
MEN. 


Titus  ii.  6 — "  Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober - 
minded." 

In  the  preceding  lecture  I  sought  to 
present  the  influence  of  early  piety  in  the 
formation  of  character  ;  it  falls  in  with  this 
course  of  thought  to  consider  to-night  the 

OBSTACLES  TO  PIETY  IN  THE  YOUNG.      Going, 

then,  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  the  final 
and  comprehensive  difficulty  is  "the  carnal 
mind  which  is  enmity  against  God."  Mark 
the  force  of  the  expression  ;  the  Apostle 
does  not  say  of  the  "  carnal  mind  "  that  it 
is  inimical  to  God,  but  that  it  is  enmity 
itself.  That  which  makes  it  ' '  the  carnal 
mind  "  is  its  entire  estrangement  from  God, 
which  cannot  be  removed  except  by  re- 
newing and  sanctifying  grace.  But,  then, 
this  enmity  takes  on  special  forms  at  dif- 
ferent periods  of  life  :  it  is  inconsiderateness 
and  levity  in  the  young,  selfishness  and 
greed  in  the  middle-aged,  indifference  and 
callousness  in  the  old.      The  young  are  not 


g6  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

easily  persuaded  to  become  Christians, 
because  they  are  fascinated  by  the  pleasures 
of  the  world  ;  those  in  mid-life,  because 
they  are  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  ; 
the  old,  because  the  habit  of  resistance  to 
the  truth  has  grown  into  a  second  nature. 
Hence  the  exhortation  of  the  text  bears 
upon  a  single  point,  "  young  men  likewise 
exhort  to  be  soberminded. "  The  word  here 
employed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  is  com- 
pounded of  two,  as  in  our  version,  which 
together  mean  "  a  sound  mind  " — a  mind 
well  poised  upon  its  own  centre,  and  not 
easily  thrown  from  its  balance  ;  a  mind 
weighing  all  things  with  unerring  judgment, 
and  therefore  marked  by  the  moderation 
of  the  desires.  In  delivering  his  pastoral 
instructions  to  his  son,  Titus,  Paul  tells 
him  to  press  specially  upon  the  young  the 
duty  of  sobriety.  But  this  levity,  so  char- 
acteristic of  those  in  the  morning  of  life, 
manifests  itself  differently  in  different  per- 
sons ;  never  perhaps  presenting  all  its  forms 
in  one  individual.  It  will  thus  be  impor- 
tant to  notice  some  of  the  ways  in  which 
this  inconsiderateness  is  disclosed. 

I.  It  is  seen  in  the  difficulty  with  which 
young  pet  sons  can  be  held  to  continuous  reflec- 
tion and  study,  and  the  ease  with  which  they 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY.  gj 

are  borne  away  by  new  and  transient  im- 
pressions from  without.  In  natural  vision 
three  things  are  required  :  the  organ  of 
vision,  the  object  of  vision  and  the  medium 
of  vision.  When  the  eye  which  sees,  and  the 
external  object  which  is  seen,  are  brought 
into  relation  through  the  light  as  the 
medium,  then  only  is  sight  enjoyed.  So  it 
is  with  the  mind  :  there  is  first  the  inquir- 
ing mind,  then  the  truth  to  be  apprehended  ; 
and  when  these  are  brought  together 
through  some  form  of  disclosure,  then  only 
knowledge  takes  place.  This  cannot  be 
had  except  through  a  right  exercise  of  the 
understanding  assimilating  the  truth  to 
itself.  In  religion  that  truth  comes*  to  us 
through  a  Divine  Revelation  ;  but  however 
perfect  this  Revelation,  it  goes  for  naught 
with  any  individual  until  it  is  studied  ; 
there  must  be  reflection  upon  its  contents 
in  order  to  Piety.  As  it  is  with  all  other 
truth,  so  it  must  be  with  Divine  and  Re- 
vealed truth ;  the  mind  which  is  the  organ 
of  knowledge  must  bring  its  powers  to 
bear  upon  these  sacred  verities,  as  facts 
disclosed  to  its  apprehension.  It  must  take 
them  into  itself,  and  by  a  process  of  mental 
digestion  incorporate  them  into  its  own 
substance.  Of  course,  I  am  not  disallowing 
or  undervaluing  that  spiritual  illumination 


90  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

through  which  these  truths  are  inwrought 
into  the  affections  of  the  Christian  and 
made  the  spiritual  food  of  the  soul.  Of 
this  deeper  process  of  spiritual  enlight- 
enment I  am  not  here  speaking ;  but  of 
that  natural  process  by  which  the  mind 
obtains  its  knowledge  in  the  sphere  of 
philosophy  or  of  science.  In  the  sphere 
of  religion  no  less  than  of  these,  there 
must  be  the  comprehension  of  the  proposi- 
tions in  which  truth  is  revealed  in -the  sacred 
Scriptures  ;  involving  the  same  natural 
operation  of  the  understanding  in  all  cases 
alike.  But  what  multitudes  read  the 
Scriptures  and  wait  upon  the  services  of 
the  Sanctuary,  without  even  an  intellectual 
grasp  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Gospel,  or  comprehending  in  any  degree 
the  method  of  grace  therein  revealed  ? 
Here  then  is  the  first  serious  obstacle  to 
practical  religion  with  the  young.  Now 
couple  with  this  the  ease  with  which  youth 
surrenders  itself  to  impressions  intruding 
at  inauspicious  moments  from  without. 
With  what  persistency  these  chase  each 
other  over  the  whole  field  of  thought,  dis- 
tracting the  attention  just  when  it  should 
be  fastened  upon  some  given  truth.  The 
mind,  instead  of  being  magnetized  and 
held  firmly  to  the  investigation  of  what  is 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY.  99 

before  it,  is  swept  away  by  these  cross 
currents  of  impertinent  and  foreign  associa- 
tions. Under  the  combined  influence  of 
natural  reluctance  to  serious  reflection  and 
the  seductive  temptation  to  drift  upon 
these  wayside  suggestions,  the  characteris- 
tic levity  of  the  young  is  constantly  dis- 
played. 

II.  It  is  discovered,  further,  "in  the  too 
eager  pursuit  of  enjoyment.  I  touch  this 
topic  gently,  not  to  anticipate  the  next 
Lecture ;  it  cannot  however  be  entirely 
omitted  in  this  connection.  As  we  first 
step  forth  into  life  we  are  very  much  under 
the  domination  of  sense.  Everything  is 
novel  and  fresh.  As  Isaac  Taylor  vividly 
puts  it,  the  five  senses  are  so  many  gate- 
ways by  which  the  soul  comes  out  from  its 
seclusion ;  walking  up  and  down  the 
avenues  which  open  before  it,  and  taking 
possession  of  a  world  foreign  to  itself.  On 
every  side  vistas  of  beauty  and  delight 
stretch  before  the  eye  in  almost  endless 
perspective  ;  and  the  young  saunter  forward 
in  a  strange  and  delirious  bewilderment. 
The  succession  of  pleasures  is  so  quick  as 
to  forstall  satiety  and  weariness.  We  have 
scarcely  thrown  aside  the  toys  of  innocent 
childhood,    before  we  encounter  the    more 


100     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

robust  pleasures  of  boyhood  ;  and  we  have 
scarcely  outgrown  these,  before  we  enter  on 
the  more  enlarged  and  varied  enjoyments  of 
ripening  manhood.  The  rapid  transition 
from  stage  to  stage  prevents  each  from 
palling  upon  the  taste,  and  the  appetite  is 
constantly  whetted  by  the  anticipation  of 
new  pleasures  in  prospect.  In  reaching 
our  majority  a  zest  is  given  to  life  in  our 
complete  emancipation  from  parental  and 
educational  control.  The  young  man  is  in 
danger  of  being  intoxicated  with  his  sud- 
denly acquired  freedom  ;  and  may  seek  to 
realize  it  in  the  rush  to  excesses  of  every 
kind.  Just  then  the  world  bursts  upon  his 
view  in  the  display  of  its  innumerable 
attractions :  throughout  it  is  a  vision  of 
loveliness.  Is  it  strange,  with  temptation 
addressed  to  every  sense,  they  should 
sometimes  forget  that — 

"  Sure  as  night  follows  day, 
Death  treads  in  pleasure's  footsteps  around  the  world, 
When  pleasure  treads  the  path  which  reason  shuns." 

Let  it  be  remembered  too,  that,  in  this 
period  of  dangerous  fascination,  the  young 
do  not  come  near  enough  to  these  pleasures 
to  discover  their  hollowness  and  vanity.  It 
is  only  in  the  experience  of  later  years, 
when  perhaps  recovery  is  born  of  remorse, 


OBSTACLES     TO     PIETY.  IOI 

the  cruel  deception  is  unmasked.  Like 
the  beautiful  soap-bubbles  blown  into  the 
air  by  our  children,  irradiated  with  all  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow,  yet  broken  with  a 
breath  and  bursting  into  emptiness  and 
nothing  ;  so  with  these  sensual  enjoyments 
upon  which  is  painted  every  form  of  de- 
light, but  which  break  at  last  into  disap- 
pointment— if  not  into  despair.  How  diffi- 
cult in  the  early  moments  of  infatuation  to 
persuade  the  young  to  pause  and  consider 
the  claims  of  personal  religion !  It  is 
enough  that  piety  assumes  the  appearance 
of  stern  restraint,  and  puts  out  the  false 
lights  luring  them  on  to  destruction,  to 
cause  it  to  be  thrust  aside  with  positive 
aversion.  How  impossible,  without  Divine 
grace,  until  experience  shall  dispel  the 
illusions  of  sense,  to  win  them  from  the 
world  to  the  truer  and  higher  enjoyment 
to  be  found  in  usefulness  and  duty  ?  My 
young  friends,  it  would  be  easy,  though 
painful,  to  tell  you  of  the  wrecks  which 
bestrew  the  shore  of  that  treacherous  sea 
glistening  beneath  the  sun,  upon  which 
you  are  tempted  to  spread  your  sail.  Do 
you  ask  how  I  come  to  know  ?  Remember 
that  the  old  were  once  young,  and  may 
have  had  hard  knowledge  of  the  tempta- 
tions which  spring  now  with  surprise  upon 


102  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

you.  It  is  only  necessary  to  draw  on 
memory,  from  whose  chambers  they  will 
come  almost  as  fresh  as  when  they  were 
undergoing  the  discipline  through  which 
you  are  passing  now.  Even  were  this  not 
the  case,  pastors  are  made  the  keepers  of 
many  secrets  poured  into  their  ear  by  the 
victims  of  dissipation  and  vice.  In  the  dark 
hours  of  biting  remorse,  these  unhappy 
wrecks  know  where  their  truest  friends  are 
to  be  found.  They  cross  our  thresholds 
and  tell  of  the  flatteries  by  which  they  were 
enticed  ;  and  how  their  virtue  crumbled 
under  temptation,  until  they  took  that 
which  was  not  theirs  to  secure  the  means 
of  continuance  in  sin  ;  and  how  exposure 
came  at  length,  with  character  gone  and 
all  hope  of  advancement  in  the  future  ;  thus 
with  scalding  tears  they  breathe  out  their 
remorse,  and  ask  how  they  can  again  be 
restored  to  society  and  happiness.  Oh, 
this  fearful  abandonment  to  a  life  of  pleas- 
ure, if  the  young  could  but  know  the  snares 
and  pit-falls  which  lie  along  that  dangerous 
path  !  But  whilst  the  delusion  lasts,  prac- 
tical religion  sues  in  vain  for  recognition  at 
their  door. 

III.    I    trust  you    will    not  smile  when  I 
mention  the  third  form  in  which  this  levity 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY.  I03 

is  displayed  ;  it  is  the  pronetiess  to  what  is 
termed  ' '  Castle  building" — a  lazy  dreaming, 
in  which  the  mind  drifts  upon  any  current 
that  seizes  it  at  the  moment.  It  is  more 
seductive,  because  partially  an  intellectual 
vice.  The  pleasure  is  chiefly  mental,  from 
the  indulgence  of  the  imagination  ;  and  the 
young  enter  upon  it  as  a  thing  wholesome 
in  character,  because  of  its  intellectual 
aspect.  They  know  not  how  it  emasculates 
the  mind,  as  leading  to  no  vigorous  thought 
by  which  that  mind  may  be  disciplined 
into  strength.  It  is  only  drifting  upon  the 
fancy,  swept  on  its  current  into  this  eddy 
or  that,  dancing  like  a  bubble  on  the  wave 
and  bursting  into  air. 

A  worse  result  even  than  this  obtains : 
it  not  only  emasculates  the  understanding, 
but  it  debauches  the  heart.  It  nourishes 
a  selfish  egotism,  which  is  fatal  to  the 
exercise  of  every  virtue.  It  is  so  easy  to 
become  the  hero  of  our  own  story  ;  and  by 
a  mere  flight  of  fancy  to  rise  to  the  height 
of  fame,  without  one  manly  effort  to  achieve 
the  greatness  which  is  the  burden  of  our 
epic.  The  precious  hours  of  life's  morning 
are  thus  worse  than  wasted  in  idle  dream- 
ing ;  dreaming  dreams  as  unsubstantial  and 
untrue  as  those  which  visit  us  by  night. 
This    sentimental    musing,    like  the  opium 


104      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

drug,  relaxes  while  it  bewitches  the  mind. 
Under  its  seductive  charm,  the  vain  dreamer 
floats  into  the  valley  of  enchantment,  where 
Thompson's  poetic  wand  raises  the  "Castle 
of  Indolence : 

"A  pleasing  land  of  drowsy-head  it  was, 

Of  dream?  that  wave  before  the  half-shut  eye, 
And  of  gay  castles  in  the  clouds  that  pass 
Forever  flushing  round  a  Summer  sky  : 
Then  eke  the  soft  delights,  that  bewitchingly 
Instil  a  wanton  sweetness  through   the  breast  ; 
But  whate'er  smacked  of  noyance  or  unrest, 
Was  far,  far  off,  expelled  from  this  delicious  nest." 

It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  ener- 
vating influence  of  this  seductive  habit 
upon  the  young,  in  all  the  paths  of  human 
life  ;  but  it  is  peculiarly  destructive  of  re- 
ligious feeling.  How  can  one  given  over 
to  this  intellectual  vice  project  his  thoughts 
beyond  these  intoxicating  delights  ?  Who 
can  arrest  the  attention  to  the  solemn 
claims  of  God  and  the  soul  ?  How  much 
more  pleasing  to  turn  away  from  harsh 
and  forbidding  subjects,  such  as  those  of 
sin  and  its  future  rewards,  to  the  delicious 
intoxication  of  the  novelist's  fancy,  when 
that  novelist  is  the  dreamer  himself,  and  he 
the  hero  of  the  unwritten  tale  ? 

IV.  This  levity  of  the  young  manifests 
itself  further  in  their  vanity  and  self-conceit. 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY.  IO5 

These  words  are  not  happily  chosen,  and  I 
cancel  their  harshness  in  the  very  utter- 
ance. I  will  come  at  the  thought  by  an 
indirection.  There  are  young  men  en- 
dowed by  the  Creator  with  noble  faculties, 
in  the  cultivation  of  which  they  become  at 
length  distinguished.  It  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible for  such  to  remain  wholly  unconscious 
of  the  power  latent  within  them  ;  unde- 
veloped though  it  may  be,  like  the  mines 
of  silver  and  gold,  or  of  iron  and  coal,  still 
hidden  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  With 
this  dim  consciousness  of  reserved  power, 
there  will  arise  in  those  who  possess  it  a 
desire  to  express  it  in  words  and  deeds  be- 
fore their  fellow-men. 

I  hold  it  the  duty  of  every  man  to  bring 
forth  whatever  of  intellectual  or  moral  force 
may  be  within  him  ;  he  must  not  allow  it 
to  remain  an  undeveloped  energy.  He 
must  go  down  into  the  dark  and  dreary 
colliery  with  pick-axe  and  shovel,  and  dig 
out  what  is  there  concealed  ;  and  his  whole 
life  should  be  an  incarnation  of  the  living 
force  with  which  he  has  been  entrusted  of 
God.  Now  the  young  man  but  half-con- 
scious of  his  dormant  power,  looks  out  upon 
the  world  and  turns  pale  at  imaginary  diffi- 
culties. A  sickly  self-love  greatest  with 
the  young  who  have  not  been  toned  under 


106      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

the  discipline  of  life,  causes  him  to  shrink 
from  possible  discomfiture  and  shame  ;  and 
he  sinks,  perhaps,  under  a  morbid  dread 
of  the  conflict  before  him.  This  is  what  I 
mean  when  I  speak  of  youthful  self-conceit 
— that  undue  tenderness  for  one's  self, 
which  is  the  worst  form  of  vanity,  as  it 
shrinks  from  duty  through  a  sickening  fear 
of  failure  amid  the  uncertainties  of  the  fu- 
ture. My  young  friends,  I  suppose  most 
of  us  have  gone  through  this  kind  of  ex- 
perience :  and  it  has  been  a  happy  discov- 
ery to  find  that,  when  the  first  shock  of 
the  battle  is  felt,  these  preliminary  fears 
are  given  to  the  winds.  The  first  resist- 
ance to  our  entrance  upon  life  has  rendered 
the  will  more  compact ;  and  with  a  firmer 
purpose  we  have  conquered  success  in 
what  we  first  feared  to  undertake. 

But  so  long  as  the  young  are  thus 
wrapped  up  in  self-contemplation  and  self- 
love,  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  them  esti- 
mate the  value  of  personal  religion.  Ah  ! 
if  they  did  but  know  the  holy  courage 
which  is  born  of  that  fear  of  God  which 
casts  out  every  other  fear.  He  who  plants 
his  feet  upon  the  rock  of  Divine  truth,  and 
looks  with  the  eye  of  faith  upon  the  reali- 
ties of  the  eternal  world,  will  hold  his  own 
under  all  the  disasters  of  life  and  win  his 


OBSTACLES     TO     PIETY.  IO7 

triumphs  from  the  very  defeats  he  encoun- 
ters. But  he  who  bows  in  idolatrous  wor- 
ship of  self,  bows  in  homage  of  the  feeb^st 
Sfod  to  whom  sacrifice  was  ever  offered. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  said  of  the  Most  High, 
"  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  strong  confi- 
dence, and  His  children  shall  have  a  place 
of  refuge." 

V.  The  saddest  form  of  levity  in  youth  is 
seen  in  the  secret  tendency  to  scepticism.  I 
ascribe  this  tendency  to  levity  of  character, 
because  the  scepticism  does  not  spring 
from  investigation.  It  is  frivolous  in  its 
origin,  as  being  simply  the  recoil  from  pre- 
vious restraint,  and  is  a  false  assumption 
of  independence.  It  is,  therefore,  perfect- 
ly shoddy  in  its  pretentions.  The  author- 
ity of  the  father,  saying,  "Thou  shalt 
not,"  is  withdrawn  ;  perhaps  the  more  ten- 
der voice  of  the  mother  is  hushed  in  death  ; 
and  the  young  man,  who  has  just  been 
emancipated  from  the  restraints  of  home, 
thinks  it  necessary  in  the  assertion  of  his 
manhood  to  trample  upon  all  the  faiths  of 
his  childhood.  He  is  not  completely  free 
from  the  authority  which  controlled  his 
youth,  until  he  has  mocked  at  the  piety  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  him.  With- 
out being  able  to  assign  a   solitary   reason 


T08     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

for  deserting  his  father's  altar,  in  the  spirit 
of  mere  self-assertion  the  son  casts  aside 
the  restraints  of  heaven  as  well  as  of  earth. 
The  desire  also  of  being  unhampered  in  the 
enjoyment  of  worldly  pleasure,  or  in  climb- 
ing the  dizzy  heights  of  ambition,  increases 
the  madness  which  throws  away  the  checks 
that  reason  herself  would  impose.  Just 
because  religion  comes  at  that  moment  as 
a  law,  in  the  intoxication  of  their  newly 
acquired  freedom  the  young  rend  aside  her 
salutary  restrains  and  follow  the  dictates  of 
their  own  judgment  and  the  decisions  of 
their  own  will.  Alas,  not  until  too  late  do 
they  discover  that  they  who  ' '  walk  in  the 
light  of  their  own  fire  and  in  the  sparks 
which  they  have  kindled,  shall  lie  down  in 
sorrow."  It  is  this  vanity  of  mind  that 
makes  a  young  man  think  himself  superior 
to  the  superstitions  of  his  gray-haired  sire; 
and  in  the  insolence  of  his  spirit,  he 
plunges  into  the  temptations  and  snares  of 
life  without  the  protection  which  true  piety 
would  surely  afford.  Imagining  himself 
clothed  with  all  the  majesty  of  freedom, 
other  eyes  see  that  in  the  fetters  of  a  slave 
he  is  "  drawing  iniquity  with  cords  of 
vanity  and  sin  as  with  a  cart-rope." 

As   I   conclude  this   lecture,  indulge  me 
in  a  single  reflection.      Archdeacon    Paley 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY.  IO9 

somewhere  remarks  that  every  man  selects 
some  one  illustration  of  the  Divine  good- 
ness, which  is  more  striking  to  his  mind 
than  any  other.  He  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  instance  which  impressed  him  most 
was  the  enjoyment  of  little  infants  with 
their  little  toys : 

"  Pleased  with  a  rattle,  tickled  with  a  straw  ;" 

and  finding,  in  the  changes  of  infantile  life, 
a  succession  of  pleasures  before  its  powers 
had  fairly  opened  upon  the  world  in  which 
it  lived.  If  then  I  were  called  to  furnish 
the  illustration  of  God's  goodness  more 
constantly  impressing  me  than  any  other, 
it  would  be  the  sovereign  mercy  which  so 
largely  spares  the  young — not  taking  them 
from  life  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
twenty  years.  Look  at  the  record  of  mor- 
tality in  every  morning's  paper,  and  see 
how  few  deaths  occur  between  these  limits. 
I  do  not  attempt  to  give  the  vital  statistics  ; 
but  certainly  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
human  race  dies  between  the  ages  of  one 
and  three.  That  is  to  say,  before  the  little 
ones  can  distinguish  between  right  and 
wrong,  and  can  be  held  accountable  for 
their  acts,  they  are  safely  sheltered  from 
all  sin  in  the  bosom  of  Him  who  has  re- 
deemed their  souls  from  death.      Suppose 


I  IO  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

this  benevolent  order  reversed,  and  the 
large  proportion  of  our  guilty  race  to  be 
hurried  into  eternity  between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  twenty,  what  a  fearful  gloom 
would  shadow  many  a  home  that  now 
hears,  in  the  death  of  infants,  only  the 
voice,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven?" 
In  the  period  which  forms  the  middle  pas- 
sage between  boyhood  and  mature  years, 
the  mental  development  puts  beyond  ques- 
tion their  moral  responsibility  ;  whilst  the 
inconsiderateness  which  marks  that  epoch 
indisposes  them  to  think  seriously  of  the 
soul  and  its  immortal  interests.  Through 
the  abundance  of  His  grace,  God  is  pleased, 
for  the  most  part,  to  bridge  over  this  criti- 
cal period  ;  sparing  the  young  until  they 
reach  the  maturity  of  their  powers,  and 
are  more  likely  to  weigh  the  solemnities  of 
death  and  the  judgment. 

My  young  friends,  suffer  me  to  urge  the 
obligation  and  importance  of  an  early  con- 
secration to  the  service  of  almighty  God, 
as  a  protection  from  all  these  perils.  If 
you  could  be  persuaded  this  night  to  give 
your  hearts  to  the  Saviour ;  if  you  would 
go  into  life's  conflicts,  which  maybe  severe 
with  some  of  you,  equipped  with  the  grace 
and  strength  which   you  need,  you  would 


OBSTACLES    TO    PIETY. 


find  the  world  sweeter,  brighter,  easier  to 
your  tread  ;  because,  in  the  pledge  of 
Divine  aid,  you  would  hold  the  secret  of 
all  your  future  triumphs. 


LECTURE   VII. 
CHOICE  OF  AMUSEMENTS. 


Ecclesiastes  xi.  9—"  Rejoice.  O young  man,  in  thy 
youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth, 
and  rvalk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of 
thine  eyes  ;  but  know  thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God 
will  bring  thee  into  judgment." 

It  was  intimated  on  last  Sabbath  even- 
ing   that     THE     SUBJECT     OF     THE      PRESENT 

Lecture  would  be  that  of  youthful 
pleasures  :  yet  in  taking  it  up,  I  am  im- 
pressed with  the  difficulty  and  delicacy  of 
the  task.  On  my  part,  there  will  be  re- 
quired a  due  discrimination  so  as  not  to 
confound  things  that  differ,  and  a  wise 
moderation  so  as  not  to  push  just  views  to 
an  unjust  extreme.  On  your  part,  will  be 
required  patience  and  candor— patience, 
not  to  run  away  with  half-sentences  ;  can- 
dor, to  put  a  right  construction  upon  what 
shall  be  said. 

It  will  be  well,  in  the  outset,  to  ascertain 
on  what  points  we  agree  in  this  discussion, 
and  where  we  are  likely  to  part  company. 
I  assume  then  that  we  are  at  one,  at  least, 
upon  two  points  : 


I  14  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

I.  That  youth  is  to  a  large  degree  the 
season  of  enjoyment.  It  is  by  no  means 
granted  that  it  is  the  only  season  ;  on  the 
contrary,  God  shows  His  wisdom  and 
benevolence  in  providing  suitable  pleasures 
for  all  periods  of  human  life ;  universal 
experience  testifying  that  the  serene  en- 
joyments of  the  old  are  more  captivating 
to  them,  than  the  more  brilliant  pleasures 
of  the  young.  I  do  not  suppose  that  this 
can  be  easily  understood  by  those  whose 
experience  is  limited  to  their  single  age  ; 
it  is  impossible  that  the  young  shall  put 
themselves  in  the  place  of  the  old,  so  as  to 
know  how  they  feel.  Those  alone,  who 
have  stood  at  both  ends  of  human  life,  are 
able  to  make  a  just  comparison  between 
the  two.  Still,  the  analogies  of  nature 
may  suggest  to  the  young  that  the  Autumn 
of  life  may  have  its  charms  no  less  than 
the  Spring.  In  the  latter,  the  youthful 
year  appears  as  a  beautiful  maiden  be- 
decked with  the  blossoms  upon  her  green 
robe :  in  the  former,  the  brown  forest  is 
adorned  with  a  thousand  kaleidoscopic 
colors  which  charm  the  eye  ;  and  we  say 
of  the  sober  maiden,  gray  with  age,  she  is 
as  beautiful  as  when  she  was  a  youthful 
bride.  Even  when  the  dying  Winter  is 
wrapped  in  its  winding-sheet  of  snow,  and 


"5 


the  icy  crystals  glisten  like  diamonds  in  the 
sun,  we  say  that  nature  is  beautiful  as  she 
sleeps  in  death.  Equally  true  is  it  of  all 
the  ages  through  which  we  pass — and  I 
may  add,  of  all  the  conditions  of  human 
society — that  all  have  their  several  enjoy- 
ments, which  would  not  be  exchanged  for 
those  of  any  other  period  or  condition.  It 
is,  however,  freely  acknowledged  that 
youth  is  the  season  for  enjoyment. 

There  are,  indeed,  many  proofs  of  this, 
obtruding  themselves  upon  our  notice. 
The  full  tide  of  animal  life  gushing  from 
its  hidden  fountain  within,  the  warm  blood 
flowing  through  the  veins,  both  make  the 
very  frame  in  which  the  soul  dwells  instinct 
not  only  with  life,  but  with  joy.  The  ani- 
mal spirits,  which  we  share  with  the  beasts 
of  the  field  as  they  gambol  on  the  meadow 
before  our  eyes,  mark  youth  as  the  time 
for  enjoyment.  Consider,  too,  the  com- 
parative absence  of  care  in  early  life.  I 
sav,  comparative  absence  ;  for  it  is  an 
error  to  suppose  that  happy  childhood  has 
no  care.  Those  anticipated  rebukes  from 
parent  or  teacher,  which  hang  like  a  cloud 
over  the  young  heart,  are  they  not  as  heavy 
a  burden  as  any  that  are  borne  in  after 
years?  But  then  these  are  limited  cares, 
likes  clouds  drifting  over  the    face  of  the 


Il6  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

moon — evanescent,  and  leaving  no  scars 
upon  the  heart.  They  are  not  the  cares 
which  cut  the  deep  furrows  across  the 
brow,  in  which  the  passing  years  are 
buried.  In  this  freedom  from  corroding 
anxiety  and  trouble,  and  in  the  wild  exu- 
berance of  animal  life,  we  may  trace  the 
signature  of  God  assigning  this  season  of 
youth  for  casting  the  character  in  the  mould 
of  happiness. 

II.  But  we  agree  further  that  it  is  unwise 
and  injurious  to  interdict  pleasure  to  the  young. 
One  of  three  results  would  accrue :  by  vio- 
lent reaction  these  restraints  would  be 
thrust  aside,  with  a  more  impetuous  rush 
towards  the  pleasures  which  are  forbidden 
— just  as  a  sluggish  stream  may  be  con- 
verted into  a  foaming  torrent  ;  or,  if  re- 
tained, they  might  prove  bandages  swath- 
ing the  free  powers  of  the  soul — by  com- 
pression forcing  the  character  into  unnatural 
shape  and  hindering  its  expansion  into 
those  generous  and  noble  qualities  which 
adorn  life  and  make  it  fruitful  of  good  ;  or 
the  tumultuous  energy  pent  up  within,  will 
force  an  outlet  for  itself  in  grosser  vices 
which  shall  deform  the  character  and  ruin 
the  soul. 

Here,  then,  is    a    substantial  agreement 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  \\J 

between  us  ;  that  youth  is  largely  the  sea- 
son for  enjoyment,  and  that  it  is  injurious 
to  interdict  pleasures  to  the  young.  We 
are  more  likely  to  diverge  when  we  come 
to  consider  the  class  of  pleasures  to  be  in- 
dulged, and  the  grounds  of  their  selection. 
The  question,  then,  emerges  just  here,  are 
there  any  general  principles  which  may  be 
formulated  to  guide  us  in  this  matter  — 
principles  which  can  be  digested  into  a 
code  and  put  into  the  hands  of  the  young, 
enabling  them  wisely  to  discriminate  be- 
tween enjoyments  which  are  healthful  and 
such  as  are  hurtful  ?  If  this  is  possible,  I 
mnch  prefer  to  present  these  in  portable 
compass  so  as  to  be  carried  in  your  con- 
sciences and  hearts,  rather  than  to  indulge 
in  detailed  criticism  of  the  various  forms  of 
worldly  pleasure  into  which  the  young  are 
enticed. 

I.  The  first  principle,  then,  which  I  lay 
down  for  your  guidance,  my  young  friends, 
is  this  :  those  amusements  are  to  be  avoided 
which  cannot  be  converted  into  the  means  of  a 
good  moral  education.  You  perceive  that  I 
ascend  to  a  higher  plane  than  has  ever 
been  dreamed  by  the  advocates  of  earthly 
pleasure  :  I  not  only  concede  that  pleasure 
is   lawful,    but  affirm    that  it  is  obligatory. 


Il8      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

It  not  only  may  be  enjoyed,  but  should  be 
enjoyed,  as  a  part  of  that  educational  sys- 
tem by  which  men  are  the  better  fitted  for 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life. 
Through  happiness  our  sympathies  are 
nourished,  and  those  kindly  charities  are 
begotten,  by  which  we  are  bound  together 
in  the  fellowship  of  society.  It  is  in  har- 
mony with  God's  fatherly  discipline  over 
His  children,  which  mingles  love-tokens 
with  the  rod.  Through  a  wise  use  of  both 
He  educates  His  children,  not  only  for  use- 
fulness on  earth,  but  for  glory  and  immor- 
tality beyond  the  grave.  Solomon  says  : 
"  In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful,  but 
in  the  day  of  adversity  consider  ;  God  also 
hath  set  the  one  over  against  the  other,  to 
the  end  that  man  should  find  nothing  after 
him."  When  the  great  Vine  dresser  goes 
into  His  vineyard  with  His  pruning  shears, 
you  find  inscribed  upon  its  two  blades  the 
words,  ''prosperity"  and  "adversity;" 
and  upon  the  reversed  sides  the  two  terms 
"joy"  and  "consideration."  Between 
the  sharp  edges  of  the  two  we  are  placed  ; 
and  as  the  two  blades,  in  His  strong  hand 
and  with  their  powerful  leverage,  are 
brought  to  bear  upon  us,  we  are  made 
fruitful  in  the  clusters  of  ripe  grapes  which 
are  finally  gathered  by  the  Master. 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  I  I9 

Those  pleasures,  then,  are  to  be  chosen 
which  educate  us  ;  those  are  to  be  declined, 
which  interfere  with  our  advancement  in 
whatever  is  useful  and  -good.  The  state- 
ment is  very  general,  but  it  has  an  immense 
sweep  ;  and  it  possesses  the  advantage  of 
being  a  working  principle,  capable  of  easy 
application  to  every  form  of  pleasure 
springing  up  in  our  path.  Lay  it  over,  for 
example,  against  the  manly  out- door 
amusements  with  which  our  young  men 
should  be  familiar.  How  these  invigorate 
the  body,  causing  the  glow  of  health  to 
pervade  the  whole  frame,  and  preserving 
from  the  incursion  of  disease  ;  and  how, 
through  this  increase  of  bodily  vigor,  men 
become  good  tempered,  charitable  in  their 
judgments,  and  free  from  disparaging 
criticisms  which  evil  men  cast  as  fire- 
bands  upon  their  enemies.  In  such  whole- 
some amusements  the  physical  condition, 
and  incidentally  the  moral,  is  improved — all 
tending  to  the  right  education  of  man  in 
all  his  faculties.  But  what  moral  education 
is  there  in  the  ball-room,  or  at  the  race- 
course, or  in  any  other  place  of  mere  sen- 
sual enjoyment?  On  the  contrary,  the 
undue  stimulus  which  is  afforded  to  pride, 
self-love,  vanity,  envy  and  jealousy,  warps 
the  character  and   renders  it   deformed  and 


120  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

unlovely  throughout.  I  am  simply  illus- 
trating the  principle,  to  show  how  easy  it 
is  of  application  in  all  the  conditions  of 
society  and  to  every  form  of  temptation 
to  which  we  are  exposed  in  life.  Write  it 
then  in  red  letters  upon  your  tablet :  our 
pleasures  are  a  part  of  our  moral  discipline, 
and  should  be  selected  with  reference  to 
education  for  the  highest  ends  of  life  in 
this  world  and  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

II.  Let  us  pass  to  the  second  principle  : 
those  pleasures  are  to  be  avoided,  which  we 
cannot  share  with  our  seniors,  and  which 
require  entire  exemption  from  restraint  to  give 
them  zest.  The  natural  pleasures  which 
God  has  ordained,  belong  to  men  in  all 
ages  and  conditions  of  life.  Permit  me  to 
sketch  a  scene  which  may  be  disclosed  in 
a  hundred  homes  in  our  city.  We  will 
open  this  door  and  that :  the  father  and  the 
mother  are  the  central  figures  in  the  group  ; 
between  the  two  range  the  children,  in  all 
degrees  from  infancy  to  robust  manhood 
or  the  gentler  charm  of  early  womanhood  ; 
over  there  in  the  corner  of  the  fire-place  sit 
the  grand-parents,  with  the  frost  of  age 
upon  their  brow,  looking  through  their  dim 
glasses  upon  the  cheerful  scene  ;  old  and 
young    are    together — old  and  young   are 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  121 

happy  at  the  same  moment  with  the  same 
pleasure — by  reason  of  their  diversities  of 
age  and  experience,  they  are  acting  and 
reacting  upon  each  other,  echoing  and  re- 
echoing the  same  note  of  domestic  enjoy- 
ment. The  father  came  in,  a  little  while 
since,  with  wrinkled  brow  ;  for  his  busi- 
ness had  been  all  day  in  a  wretched  tangle. 
He  heaved  a  bitter  sigh  when  his  hand 
was  on  the  lock  of  the  door  ;  and  he  sought 
with  an  effort  of  will  to  throw  off  the  bur- 
den of  care,  that  its  gloom  might  not  cast 
its  shadow  upon  those  within.  Now  he 
has  taken  the  little  prattler  upon  his  knee  ; 
who,  with  that  silvery  laugh  that  belongs 
to  early  childhood,  puts  out  its  dimpled 
hand  upon  that  rugged  brow — which  be- 
comes so  strangely  smooth  under  its  magic 
touch.  The  heart  that  was  sinking  in 
half  despair,  grows  brave  again  ;  and  he 
resolves  to  go  back  to  his  burden,  and  by 
industry  and  thrift  beat  back  the  storm 
which  threatens  to  turn  those  nestlings  out 
of  their  happy  home.  Who  could  have 
dreamed  of  such  power  in  an  unconscious 
infant's  touch.;  but  it  must  be  a  touch  laid 
upon  careworn  age.  And  look  upon  those 
half-grown  boys  overflowing  with  merri- 
ment, because  the  father  steps  down  from 
his  dignity,  and  for  one  hour  on  that  happy 


122  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

evening  becomes  the  oldest  boy  in  the 
house.  We  know  it  all,  for  we  had  in 
other  days  the  homes  in  which  these  things 
were. 

God  means  that  society  shall  be  held  to- 
gether in  bonds  of  reciprocal  love  ;  and 
those  pleasures  which  make  us  happy  in 
the  end,  are  put  right  here  in  the  endear- 
ments of  domestic  life.  But  when  we  be- 
gin to  dismember  the  social  fabric  by  sep- 
arating the  classes  which  God  has  ordained 
to  be  together — when  we  put  the  young  in 
one  room,  and  the  old  in  another,  and  say 
the  glare  of  our  brightness  is  too  much  for 
your  dim  eyes — in  that  separation,  we  are 
proving  the  infelicity  of  the  enjoyments 
which  cannot  be  common  to  all.  Why, 
we  can  separate  the  water  we  drink  into 
the  elements  of  which  it  is  composed  :  but 
then  we  have  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  and 
no  longer  the  water  which  quenches  thirst. 
We  can  take  the  beautiful  light  coming 
from  the  sun,  and  with  childish  glee  rejoice 
in  the  prismatic  colors  into  which  we  have 
resolved  it ;  but  then  it  is  no  longer  the 
light  which  is  so  sweet  for  the  eyes  to  be- 
hold. So,  when  we  take  society  to  pieces 
by  the  joints,  we  dissolve  that  which  God 
has  constituted  for  our  highest  enjoyment 
as  well  as  noblest  improvement.      It   is   a 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  I  23 

safe  working  principle,  therefore,  to  eschew 
all  pleasures  which  we  cannot  share  with 
the  serious  and  the  old. 

III.  Those  pleasures,  again,  are  hurtful 
iv Inch  intoxicate  and  beruitch  the  senses. 
Healthful  enjoyments  have  their  natural 
bounds :  as  seen  from  the  fact  that  they 
cease  to  be  enjoyed  as  soon  as  these  limits 
are  passed.  It  is  with  them  as  with  our 
food  and  drink.  When  hungry,  food  is 
grateful  ;  the  moment  hunger  ceases,  it  is 
easier  to  swallow  physic  than  the  most 
delicate  viands.  In  consuming  thirst,  the 
water  bursting  from  the  mountain  spring- 
is  more  delicious  than  the  costliest  imported 
,wines  :  but  when  thirst  is  assuaged,  we 
dash  the  goblet  from  our  lips.  Having 
reached  the  point  at  which  enjoyment  stops, 
the  temptation  to  further  indulgence  is  re- 
moved. In  like  manner,  in  natural  plea- 
sures excess  is  prevented  because  at  a  given 
point  they  cease  to  please,  and  therefore 
cease  to  tempt. 

But  as  there  are  pleasures  which  are 
safe  and  healthful,  so  there  are  others 
which  madden  and  inflame.  Brandy  may 
have  its  uses,  when  the  fever  has  died  out 
and  the  patient  is  in  danger  of  collapse  ; 
and    opium    may    have   its   use    when    the 


124  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

nerves  have  been  for  hours  upon  the  rack, 
and  the  taxed  brain  is  ready  to  slip  into 
madness  unless  it  can  have  the  medicine  of 
sleep  :  but  in  the  heyday  of  youth  it  would 
be  as  well  to  leave  the  brandy  and  opium 
alone,  when  it  shall  become  a  strange  fire 
setting  the  blood  on  flame — a  catastrophe 
not  unlike  setting  on  fire  the  whole 
ocean — making  it  a  universal  and  consum- 
ing flame.  Yet  constituted  as  society  is, 
it  is  to  these  maddening  and  destructive 
enjoyments  the  young  are  chiefly  exposed. 
Forgive  me,  if  the  suggestion  strike  you  as 
grotesque  ;  if  there  be  any  class  to  whom 
these  intoxicating  enjoyments  should  be  re- 
mitted, it  is  the  old  rather  than  the  young. 
Give  up  the  wild  dance  to  your  father, 
when  he  begins  to  freeze  and  stiffen  with 
age  ;  it  may  do  him  good  by  suppling  his 
limbs :  but  for  you  who  need  it  not,  avoid 
the  fascination  of  those  pleasures  in  whose 
intoxicating  power  lies  your  inevitable 
destruction. 

IV.  Again,  those  pleasures  are  forbidden 
which  contravene  any  known  duty,  or  any 
truth  in  the  word  of  God.  There  are  cir- 
cumstances in  which  even  lawful  enjoyment 
becomes  criminal.  Take  a  concrete  illus- 
tration :  here  is  a   youth   of   18   years;   his 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  1 25 

father  died  when  he  was  but  fifteen  ;  his 
widowed  mother,  under  the  pressure  of 
grief,  has  struggled  through  three  years  to 
maintain  the  household  plunged  by  that 
unhappy  death  in  extreme  poverty.  This 
son  has  obtained  employment  which  yields 
a  moderate  salary,  sufficient  barely  to  sus- 
tain the  feeble  mother  and  two  dependent 
sisters.  He  is  surrounded  by  gay  compan- 
ions who  generously  wish  him  to  share 
their  costly  amusements  :  evidently  what 
may  be  lawful  to  them,  is  forbidden  to  him. 
He  cannot  engage  in  pursuits  of  any  kind 
which  disable  him  from  performing  those 
solemn  duties  of  protection  and  care, 
which  he  owes  to  those  now  dependent  on 
his  earnings. 

Allow  me,  my  young  friends,  to  tear  a 
leaf  from  my  own  history  in  enforcement 
of  this  position  :  for  I  read  a  day  or  two 
since,  that  to  give  power  to  any  utterance 
it  must  cease  to  be  abstract,  and  the  man 
must  stand  behind  his  thought.  When  I 
was  seventeen  years  of  age,  I  was  thrown 
into  a  large  city  as  much  given  to  gaiety  as 
this,  without  being  subject  to  any  control, 
I  was  irreligious,  nay,  worse  than  that,  I 
was  hostile  to  religion,  in  decided  hostility 
to  God  and  the  Gospel,  in  such  evil  pos- 
ture that,  had   I    fallen   into   the   hands   of 


126  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

scoffers,  I  might  have  become  as  infidel 
as  they.  Surrounded  by  companions  as 
unrestrained  as  myself,  most  of  whom  sank 
into  premature  graves,  through  the  mercy 
of  God  I  was  saved.  /Vnd  what  instru- 
mentality saved  me  from  ruin  ?  Simply 
the  fortunate  combination  of  poverty  and 
pride.  Over  the  chasm  of  fifty  years  I  re- 
call the  tempting  invitations  of  that  period  : 
' '  to-night  we  are  to  have  a  supper,  and  will 
have  a  gay  time  of  it,  and  we  want  you  to 
be  with  us  and  add  to  our  pleasure.  " 
"No,"  was  the  reply,  "I  thank  you  for 
your  kindness,  but  I  cannot  come."  "Why 
cannot  you  come?  "  "  Because  I  cannot 
afford  it."  "Cannot  afford  it  !  You  are 
not  asked  to  pay  for  the  supper,  but  only 
to  eat  it."  "  Yes,"  I  replied,  "but  if  to- 
night I  eat  your  supper  and  drink  your 
wine,  very  soon  -after  you  must  eat  my 
supper  and  drink  my  wine  :  and  I  cannot 
afford  it."  Thus  the  poverty  under  which 
I  chafed  at  the  time,  was  God's  protection 
of  me.  Easier  fortunes  came  later  and 
floated  me  over  those  days  ;  and  within  a 
year  I  found  a  home  in  the  Church  of  the 
living--  God,  where  I  have  been  sheltered 
from  that  day  to  this. 

I  have  chosen  to  run   the   hazard   of  be- 
ing charged  with  egotism,    in  order  to  give 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  1 27 

a  personal  illustration  of  the  principle  be- 
fore us — that  pleasures  which  are  lawful  to 
many,  may  be  unlawful  to  us  who  are 
placed  providentially  in  circumstances 
which  render  indulgence  criminal.  Bear 
in  mind  that  pleasures  are  intended  as  a 
tonic,  to  bring  up  the  energies  that  would 
otherwise  flag :  and  the  moment  they  in- 
terfere with  the  duties  assigned  us,  they 
become  temptations  and  a  snare. 

The  prohibition  is  stronger  whenever 
these  pleasures  constructively  contravene^ 
any  principle  taught  in  Holy  Scripture.. 
Is  it  lawful,  for  example,  to  enter  any 
calling  which  gives  him  scmething  for 
nothing  :  when  that  something  for  nothing 
does  not  come  in  the  way  of  a  gift,  and 
represents  no  feeling  of  kincjness  ?  Place 
against  any  such  system  of  finance  the  pre- 
scribed law  of  labor  under  which  all  men 
are  placed,  that  "if  a  man  does  not  work 
neither  shall  he  eat ;  "  is  there  not  a  law  in 
the  Decalogue,  which  says  with  solemn 
emphasis,  "  thou  shalt  not  steal  "  ?  Oram 
I  by  unwise  extravagance  to  involve  my- 
self in  embarrassments  from  which  there  is 
no  extrication  without  injury  to  others? 
You  can  seldom  take  up  the  journal  of 
any  morning,  but  the  staring  head- 
lines report  some  enormous  defalcation  : 
and  in  almost  every  instance  the  cause  as- 


128     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

signed  is  fast  living,  the  plunging  into  gaie- 
ties which  could  not  be  sustained.  Driven 
at  length  by  necessity,  the  victim  of 
his  own  folly  breaks  the  commandment  of 
God  and  finds  himself  on  the  way  to  the 
Penitentiary. 

V.  I  am  brought  to  the  last  principle 
which  should  rule  the  young  in  the  selec- 
tion of  their  pleasures  ;  that  those  amuse- 
ments are  injurious  which  are  hostile  to  an 
early  devotion  to  the  sen 'ice  of  Christ.  It  is 
just  as  obligatory  for  you  to  be  a  Christian 
at  twenty,  as  at  seventy  years  of  age. 
The  epicurean  maxim  is  fatal  in  its  conse- 
quences, that  because  youth  is  the  season 
for  enjoyment  therefore  it  may  take  reprisals 
for  the  cares  hereafter  to  devolve  upon  it. 
No  proverb  is  more  hurtful  than  that  which 
allows  the  "sowing  of  wild  oats"  while 
we  are  young.  These  wild  oats  will  crop 
out  in  the  field  when  we  are  old,  laying 
the  foundation  for  future  toil  in  weeding 
the  garden  and  supplying  it  with  plants 
which  are  wholesome.  Every  period  of 
human  life  is  covered  with  the  authority  of 
God ;  and  to  the  young  he  speaks  with 
loving  emphasis,  "  My  son,  give  me  thine 
heart."  It  is  robbery  in  the  young,  as  it  is 
in  the   old,   to   withhold   that   heart   upon 


CHOICE    OF    AMUSEMENTS.  I  20, 

which  the  Almighty  is  ever  enforcing  His 
just  claim  :  and  if  there  are  forms  of  enjoy- 
ment which  hinder  this  early  consecration 
to  God,  this  alone  stamps  them  as  evil. 

Nor  is  there  a  single  natural  pleasure 
which  interferes  with  early  piety.  A  boy 
of  ten  may  be  a  Christian,  as  well  as  a 
man  of  thirty :  but  it  should  be  the  piety 
of  the  boy,  and  becomes  hypocrisy  when- 
ever it  is  anything  else.  The  very  mirth- 
fulness  of  the  child  may  be  sanctified  by 
divine  grace  and  made  tributary  to  God's 
glory.  The  characteristic  feature  of  all 
true  enjoyment  is  that  it  is  consistent  with 
the  claims  of  Jehovah,  in  all  the  relations 
and  conditions  of  human  life. 

In  conclusion,  I  trust  I  have  sufficiently 
shown  that  neither  the  old  nor  Christians 
have  any  jealousy  of  the  true  pleasures  of 
the  young.  You  may  possibly  think — if 
not  saying  it — "oh,  you  are  a  church- 
member  and  cannot  be  expected  to  en- 
gage in  these  our  enjoyments!"  Why, 
my  young  friends,  we  are  Christians  be- 
cause we  choose  to  be  such  ;  and  have  as 
good  a  right  to  be  wild  and  rollicking  as 
any  of  you.  You  cannot  therefore  urge 
any  plea  of  this  sort,  in  evading  our  re- 
monstrance. If  I  am  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  it  is  because,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the   Holy  Spirit,    I    chose   to   be : 


130  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

but  there  was  a  time  when  I  did  not  so 
choose  ;  and  I  could  have  gone  forward  in 
a  course  of  recklessness  and  folly,  if  it  had 
seemed  fit  to  do  so.  We  wish  it  to  be 
understood  that  the  old,  by  their  past  ex- 
perience, have  sympathy  wit '1  the  pursuits 
and  enjoyments  of  youth.  But  I  would 
be  unjust  to  you,  if  I  failed  to  remind  you 
of  the  purer  enjoyment  to  be  found  in  the 
service  and  worship  of  the  blessed  God. 
If  the  world  could  only  know  it,  there  is 
more  true  joy  in  the  penitence  and  sorrow 
of  the  Christian,  when  he  melts  in  grati- 
tude as  the  Father  above  sweetly  whis- 
pers, "thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee,  "  than 
in  all  the  pleasures  which  Solomon  com- 
pares to  "the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a 
pot."  I  commend  to  you  this  night  the 
sober  pleasures  of  religion  as  immeasure- 
ably  greater  than  all  the  glittering  plea- 
sures of  this  poor  world.  The  logic  is 
very  short :  if  the  sorrow  and  the  weeping 
of  the  pious  are  happier  than  all  your 
joys,  what  must  the  ecstasy  of  the  Chris- 
tian be  when  he  basks  in  the  full  light  of 
his  Heavenly  Father's  favor,  with  assur- 
ance of  eternal  blessedness  in  the  world  to 
come?  May  God  bring  you  at  last  into 
His  presence  where  is  fulness  of  joy,  and 
to  "His  right  hand  where  are  pleasures  for 
evermore." 


LECTURE    VIII. 
S/N  OF   PROFANE    SWEARING. 


Exodus  xx.  7—"  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain  :  for  the  Lo>d  will  not  hold  him 
guiltless  that  takcth  his  name  in  vain.''''     Also. 

Matthew  v.  34-37  — 4i  But  I  say  unto  yon,  swear  not 
at  all ;  neither  l>\>  heaven,  for  it  is  God'' s  throne  ;  nor  hv  the 
earth,  for  it  is  his  footstool ;  neither  by  Jerusalem,  for  it 
is  the  c  iy  of  the  great  King  ;  neither  shalt  thou  swear 
by  thy  head,  because  thou  camt  not  make  one  hair  white  or 
Hack.  But  let  your  communication  be,  yea.  yea,  — nay, 
nay— for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these  comcth  of  evil." 

The  preceding  lectures  were  upon  gen- 
eral topics,  and  were  approached  without 
reluctance.  But  the  four  which  are  to 
follow  will  be  more  special,  and  will  be 
approached  with  some  misgiving  because 
they  partake  of  the  nature  of  censure. 
It  is  never  pleasant,  in  Church  or  State, 
to  assume  the  function  of  prosecuting  At- 
torney and  to  file  indictments  against  our 
fellow-men.  Certainly  the  preacher  of  the 
Gospel  would  far  prefer  to  dwell  upon  the 
infinite  love  of  God,  and  so  persuade  men 


132  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

to  embrace  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But 
it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  lift  the  voice 
of  warning  against  the  sins  and  vices  pre- 
vailing in  society,  and  so  to  pluck  men 
from  perdition. 

From  the  passages  of  Scripture  just  re- 
cited, you  perceive  that  I  propose  to 
dwell  upon  the  vice  of  profane  swear- 
ing. It  would  be  natural  to  present  the 
lower  aspects  of  the  case  :  such  as  the  in- 
appropriateness  of  the  language  employed, 
when  used  simply  to  adorn  our  speech  or 
to  lend  emphasis  to  what  we  utter.  In 
most  instances  the  oath  is  a  mere  expletive 
filling  up  a  hollow  utterance,  or  confirming 
its  truth.  The  indecency  of  the  language 
might  also  be  urged  as  a  dissuasive  :  for 
the  fact  that  those  given  to  it  find  them- 
selves constrained  to  suppress  the  oath  in 
the  presence  of  those  whom  it  would  out- 
rage, is  an  involuntary  confession  that  it  is 
an  offence  against  good  manners.  Yet  if 
conventional  usage  sustains  the  practice, 
no  conviction  of  its  indecency  or  absurdity 
will  arrest  it.  Indeed  it  would  only  weak- 
en the  impression  I  desire  to  make  upon 
you,  should  I  linger  upon  these  lower  con- 
siderations. Let  us  then  ascend  at  once 
to  the  higher  plane  upon  which  all  moral 
advice  should  rest. 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 33 

I.  Profane  swearing  pours  contempt  upon 
the  perfections  of  God,  as  these  are  symbo- 
lized in  His  various  names.  Names  are 
given  to  things  in  order  to  distinguish 
them  ;  they  are  the  handles  by  which  we 
take  them  up,  and  present  them  to  our  own 
view  and  to  the  views  of  others.  We  can- 
not get  along  in  ordinary  intercourse  with- 
out designating  the  various  objects  to 
which  we  direct  our  attention  ;  and  this  is 
done  shortly  and  conclusively  by  the 
names  which  describe  them.  At  the  be- 
ginning, names  were  never  arbitrary,  but 
were  significant  ;  inasmuch  as  they  set 
forth  some  of  the  properties  conspicuous 
in  the  objects  indicated.  Certainly  this  is 
true  of  the  name  of  the  Deity.  Some  of 
the  ancient  fathers  were  accustomed  to 
say,  that  God  was  the  only  being  in  the 
universe  who  needed  not  a  name ;  since 
being  alone  of  His  kind,  he  had  no  need  to 
be  distinguished  from  others.  But  if  God 
is  pleased  to  reveal  Himself  as  the  object 
of  worship,  and  if  the  creature  must  ap- 
proach Him  with  his  wants,  then  certain- 
ly a  name  is  needed  as  a  medium  of  ad- 
dress. It  is  not  a  little  instructive  on  this 
point,  that  in  the  recorded  prayers  of  the 
Bible  the  names  of  the  Deity  always  em- 
balm the  substance  of  the  petition.      The 


134  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

mind  naturally  seeks  that  in  the  character 
of  Jehovah  which  warrants  the  prayer: 
and  through  this  attribute,  as  embodied  in 
some  of  the  Divine  names,  ventures  to  ap- 
proach the  throne  with  its  petition.  The 
names  of  God  in  the  Scripture  are  derived 
sometimes  from  His  essential  being— as  "Je- 
hovah, "  or  as  the  "  I  am,"  or  as  "He 
was  and  is  and  is  to  come:  "  sometimes 
again  from  His  attributes,  both  natural  and 
moral — as  when  we  speak  of  Him  as  "  the 
Most  High,  "  or  "the  Almighty,"  or  as 
"  the  only  wise  God,"  or  "  the  King  eter- 
nal, immortal,  invisible,"  etc;  at  other 
times,  the  names  are  derived  from  the  re- 
lations which  He  sustains  to  the  creature, 
as  ruler,  preserver  and  judge.  The  point 
then  to  be  made  here  is  this  ;  as  these 
names  are  all  of  them  significant  of  some 
property  or  excellence  in  the  Divine  Being, 
the  special  vice  of  profane  swearing  con- 
sists in  disassociating  them  from  the  per- 
fections which  they  symbolize.  You  will 
perceive  how  completely  this  anticipates 
and  refutes  the  apology  usually  offered  to 
palliate  this  offence.  A  man  may  say,  I 
intend  no  disrespect  to  the  Almighty  when 
I  use  His  name  as  an  expletive  :  it  is  done 
thoughtlessly,  not  even  having  that  august 
Being    in  my    mind   at  all ;   and   He  who 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 35 

searches  the  heart  knows  that  it  was  not  in 
my  thought  to  disparage  His  character,  or 
to  throw  reproach  upon  His  awful  majes- 
ty. Now  what  is  here  offered  as  an  apol- 
ogy constitutes,  in  my  view,  the  essence 
of  the  sin,  to-wit:  that  it  disassociates  those 
things  which  should  ever  be  closely  and 
reverently  joined  together.  It  is  a  serious 
injury  to  a  man's  moral  nature,  when  the 
two  can  be  so  separated  that  no  sugges- 
tion of  God's  majesty  and  holiness  comes 
with  the  mention  of  His  name. 

I  recall  at  this  moment  a  story  once 
read  in  my  youth,  strikingly  illustrating 
this  matter.  It  was  the  story  of  an  Ital- 
ian nobleman  unfortunately  addicted  to 
the  vice  of  gambling.  One  eventful  night 
proved  to  him  the  night  of  destiny.  He 
first  staked  upon  the  board  all  the  ready 
money  that  he  could  command  ;  then  the 
revenues  accruing  from  his  landed  estates : 
after  this,  those  estates  themselves,  one 
after  another  until  they  were  all  swept 
from  his  possession.  Nothing  remained  of 
his  ancestral  domain,  except  the  palace  in 
the  imperial  city,  in  whose  proud  halls 
high  revelry  had  been  kept  through  cen- 
turies past  by  his  forefathers.  When  re- 
lentless fortune  had  wrested  this,  too,  from 
his  grasp,  with  the  intense  passion  of  the 


I36     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

gamester  he  exclaimed,  "One  tie  alone 
binds  me  to  life  ;  it  is  the  bride  who  was 
shortly  to  have  been  worn  as  a  jewel  upon 
my  bosom."  It  was  the  last  stake  to  be 
thrown  upon  the  fatal  board — the  fair  and 
noble  creature  who  should  have  shared 
with  him  the  fortunes  of  life.  When  the 
cruel  dice  decided  this  against  him,  he 
rose  in  the  madness  of  despair  :  with  a  hor- 
rid imprecation,  he  said  to  his  successful 
rival,  "You  have  taken  from  me  the  estates 
of  my  progenitors,  the  palace  in  which 
they  lived  ;  you  have  cut  the  last  tie  which 
bound  me  to  the  future ;  I  stand,  a  ruined 
beggar,  before  you  in  your  triumph :  there 
is  but  one  thing  left ;  I  stake  my  name — a 
name  illustrious  in  Italy's  history,  a  name 
never  tainted  with  reproach — the  name  to 
which  I  am  heir,  coming  down  to  me 
through  a  proud  and  honored  ancestry  ; 
it  is  all  that  is  left  to  me  ;  I  pledge  it  as 
my  last  stake."  His  evil  fortune  could 
not  be  appeased :  this,  too,  was  lost,  and 
the  ruined  gamester  rushed  madly  through 
the  brilliantly  lighted  halls  into  the 
"outer  darkness."  Just  think  ;  he  could 
not  tell  to  any  being  on  earth  so  much  as 
who  he  was.  He  had  deliberately  put 
away  from  him  that  by  which  he  could  be 
distinguished  from  others  of  his  race  ;  he 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 37 

had  severed  the  last  tie  by  which  he  was 
bound  to  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  stood 
confessed  at  the  bar  of  his  own  conscience 
an  apostate  from  himself.  The  story  goes 
on  to  say  that,  a  fugitive  over  the  earth, 
he  chanced  to  encounter  the  antagonist  who 
robbed  him  of  his  all.  Rushing  forward 
he  kneeled  at  his  feet,  saying,  "Keep,  keep 
all,  my  lands  and  estates,  my  palace  and 
my  bride,  only  give  me  back  my  name." 
When  this  was  disdainfully  refused,  he 
rushed  upon  his  foe  in  deadly  combat. 
But  fortune  was  still  unrelenting :  falling 
to  the  earth  with  the  sword  of  his  antago- 
nist through  his  breast,  he  gathered  the 
clotted  blood  and  threw  it  back  upon  him 
with  a  muttered  curse,  and  passed  away 
to  meet  the  retribution  of  his  crime. 

This  story,  whether  fact  or  fiction,  forci- 
bly teaches  us,  what  is  in  a  name  :  it  repre- 
sents our  personality,  and  to  forfeit  it  is 
to  forego  our  identity.  If  this  can  be  true 
of  a  name  which  is  arbitrary,  in  that  it  is 
significant  of  nothing,  what  must  be  the 
guilt  or  the  attempt  to  rob  the  living  God 
of  the  names  which  represent  to  our 
thought  all  His  glorious  excellence  ?  Is  it 
not  because  of  this  necessary  association 
between  the  names  and  perfections  of  God, 
that  the  sin  of  profane  swearing  is  so  hard- 


I38      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

ening  in  its  influence  ?  By  destroying,  in 
one's  own  mind,  this  association  with  all  of 
sweetness  and  love,  a  man's  whole  con- 
science and  heart  becomes  as  impenetrable 
as  the  nether  millstone. 

II.  Observe  further  that  the  oath  is  or- 
dained as  an  act  of  religious  worship ;  of 
which  profane  swearing  is  the  perversion 
and  travesty.  All  swearing  is  not  forbid- 
den ;  only  that  which  is  profane.  In  the 
Old  Testament,  God  testifies  His  willing- 
ness to  save  the  sinner  by  an  oath :  ' '  As  I 
live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
the  death  of  the  wicked  :  but  that  the  wick- 
ed turn  from  his  way,  and  live."  (Ezekiel 
xxxiii  2.)  What  more  stringent  oath 
can  there  be,  than  thus  to  swear  by  His 
own  necessary  and  eternal  being  ?  Equal- 
ly solemn,  if  not  even  more  startling,  is 
the  oath  founded  upon  His  consummate  and 
unchangeable  Holiness:  "Once  have  I 
sworn  by  my  holiness  that  I  will  not  lie 
unto  David.  "  (Psalms  lxxxix  35.)  So 
in  the  New  Testament  the  superiority  of 
Christ's  priesthood  over  that  of  Aaron  is 
proven  by  the  fact  of  his  induction  into 
office  with  the  solemnity  of  an  oath :  "for 
those  priests  were  made  without  an  oath  ; 
but  this    with   an  oath  by   Him  that   said 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 39 

unto  him,  the  Lord  sware  and  will  not  re- 
pent, Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec. "  The  Apostle  Paul, 
refers  to  the  covenant  of  old  made  with 
Abraham,  that  it  was  confirmed  with  an 
oath;  "for  when  God  made  promise  to 
Abraham,  because  He  could  swear  by  no 
greater,  He  sware  by  Himself,  saying, 
surely  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  mul- 
tiplying I  will  multiply  thee.  For  men 
verily  swear  by  the  greater ;  and  an  oath 
for  confirmation  is  to  them  the  end  of  all 
strife."  (Hebrews  vi.  13-16.)  Paul  does 
not  hesitate  to  call  God  to  witness  to  the 
truth  of  what  he  averred.  (Romans  1  9.) 
And  I  am  not  sure  that  the  asseveration 
so  commonly  employed  by  our  Lord, 
"verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,"  does  not 
partake  of  the  nature  of  an  oath.  It  is  at 
least  the  solemn  and  duplicate  deposition 
of  one  who  recognized  that  He  was  a  wit- 
ness for  the  truth. 

The  oath  then,  when  analyzed,  is  an  act  oi 
religious  homage  :  it  is  a  recognition  of  the 
Divine  existence,  of  His  necessary  attri- 
butes, of  His  supreme  relation  to  us  as 
lawgiver  and  judge.  By  it  a  man  binds 
his  soul  under  the  Divine  law,  and  chal- 
lenges the  omniscient  Jehovah  as  witness  to 
what  he  says   and    does.      If  God  be  wit- 


I4O   '  FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

ness  and  judge  of  every  transaction  of  man 
upon  earth,  is  not  this  oath  by  which  God 
is  specially  invoked  an  act  of  worship  sin- 
gularly impressive  in  its  solemnity  ?  Is  not 
the  guilt  therefore  of  using  this  name  ir- 
reverently correspondingly  great,  which 
travesties  all  that  is  sacred  in  the  charac- 
ter of  that  august  Being  before  whom  we 
must  stand  in  the  final  judgment  ?  I  re- 
member a  class  of  young  men  in  a  college, 
more  than  fifty  years  ago,  who  engaged 
one  night  in  a  mock  prayer-meeting :  and 
went  beyond  this  in  a  sacrilegious  travesty 
of  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper.  Now  I 
am  far  from  saying  that  the  ordinary  and 
thoughtless  profanity  of  men  partakes  of 
the  malignity  of  these  acts ;  but  I  do  say 
that  it  is  always  and  everywhere  a  traves- 
ty of  that  which  God  ordains  as  a  medium 
of  communion  between  Himself  and  the 
human  soul  ;  and  the  guilt  cannot  be  slight 
which  profanes  this  worship. 

Do  not  deem  me  harsh  when  I  add  that, 
as  I  pass  along  these  streets  compelled  to 
hear  the  blasphemies  that  fall  upon  my  ear, 
I  pause  and  ask  myself  "do  these  men 
know  that  unwittingly  in  their  oaths  they 
are  testifying  to  the  most  fearful  truths  re- 
vealed in  the  Word  of  God  ?  "  When  you 
hear  them  sending  themselves  and   others 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  I4I 

to  endless  perdition  in  terms  which  cause 
one's  hair  to  stand  on  end,  do  they  not 
proclaim  the  doctrine  of  Hell  with  an  em- 
phasis which  the  pulpit  would  not  dare  to 
use?  How  do  you  explain  it?  How 
comes  it  that  these  men  who  turn  con- 
temptously  away  from  all  the  overtures  of 
infinite  love,  with  that  instinct  of  justice 
planted  in  every  bosom  do  so  conspicu- 
ously challenge  the  judgment  of  Heaven 
upon  themselves  and  their  fellows  ?  Never- 
theless, as  it  is  done  inconsiderately,  it  re- 
mains a  perversion  and  travesty  of  what 
Almighty  God  ordains  as  acts  of  solemn 
worship. 

III.  Profane  swearing  weakens  the  bonds 
of  society,  by  lessening  the  value  of  the  Ju- 
dicial Oath  in  our  Courts  of  Justice.  Man's 
religious  nature  underlies  all  the  institu- 
tions of  society.  Look  at  this  assemblage 
here  to-night :  several  hundred  human  be- 
ings sit  together,  each  with  a  separate  will, 
and  each  will  exacting  all  within  its  con- 
trol :  yet  is  this  assembly  but  a  miniature 
representation  of  the  world  at  large ;  how 
is  society  to  be  preserved  amidst  this  clash 
of  wills  ?  Civil  government  must  lay  a 
forcible  restraint  upon  the  passions  of  men  ; 
although    we    have  been  under  discipline 


142     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

and  accustomed  to  restraint  from  the  cradle 
upward.  How  is  it  that  men,  with  pas- 
sions as  fierce  as  those  of  the  bear  and 
tiger,  and  with  intelligence  far  exceeding 
that  of  the  beasts,  can  be  held  in  check  ? 
We  may  dream  as  we  please  about  man- 
kind coming  up  from  a  state  of  barbarism 
and  brute  force,  and  sitting  in  council  to 
devise  constitutions  and  laws  by  which 
their  mutual  interests  might  be  protected  ; 
but  the  truth  underlying  all  this  mystery,  is 
that  Almighty  God  has  made  man  a  religious 
being.  With  a  conscience  ever  responding 
to  the  authority  of  law,  and  held  under  a 
supernatural  control,  man  is  capable  of 
subjection  to  human  law  :  and  without  this 
religious  nature  underlying  all  obedience, 
the  government  could  not  be  framed 
strong  enough  to  hold  in  check  the  pas- 
sions and  lusts  by  which  society  would  be 
convulsed.  But  the  last  resource  of  hu- 
man government  is  an  appeal  to  this  re- 
ligious sentiment  in  man.  In  our  Courts 
of  Justice,  in  every  case  that  is  tried 
whether  of  life  or  death,  or  where  proper- 
ty interests  alone  are  involved,  the  wit- 
nesses are  not  allowed  to  utter  a  syllable  of 
testimony,  until  they  have  been  placed  in 
the  presence  of  the  Omitiscient  One,  and 
are    bound    under    penalty  of  the   Divine 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 43 

law  to  speak  only  the  truth.  This  is  no 
idle  form  ;  but  a  solemn  acknowledgment 
that  perjury,  though  it  may  escape  detec- 
tion here,  will  surely  be  overtaken  by  the 
swift  and  unerring  justice  of  Jehovah.  It 
thus  appears  that  human  law  and  human 
courts  can  protect  the  interests  of  property 
and  human  life,  only  by  laying  its  reverent 
hand  upon  the  sanctions  of  the  eternal 
world  ;  and  bringing  all  parties  under  the 
scrutiny  of  that  Judge  who  has  power  to 
read  the  secrets  of  every  heart. 

If  now,  we  weaken  this  sentiment  of 
reverence  by  a  light  and  frivolous  use  of 
the  venerable  name,  of  what  value  is  the 
oath  in  the  sacred  precincts  of  human 
justice?  If  no  higher  consideration  can 
prevail,  a  common  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  society,  and  the  need  of  mutual  protec- 
tion, should  restrain  the  useless  oath  in 
which  God's  holy  and  dreadful  name  is 
daily  profaned. 

IV.  Profane  sweating  exposes  constantly 
to  the  danger  and  guilt  of  petjury.  The 
legal  definition  of  perjury,  given  by  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  is — "  when  a  lawful  oath  is 
administered  in  some  judicial  proceeding, 
to  a  person  who  swears  wilfully,  absolutely 
and    falsely  in    a    matter    material  to   the 


144     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

issue  or  point  in  question."  This  defini- 
tion, it  will  be  perceived,  is  narrowed  with- 
in the  scope  of  merely  judicial  proceed- 
ings ;  which  is  all  that  law  is  technically 
called  to  do.  But  there  is  a  wider  sense 
in  which  a  shade,  at  least,  of  this  guilt  may 
be  contracted.  It  is  where  men  swear  to 
that  which  is  false  in  any  case  ;  whether  in 
the  interests  of  litigants  in  the  courts  of 
justice,  or  beyond  legal  jurisdiction  alto- 
gether. Now  see  how  the  common 
swearer  may  graze  the  edge  of  this  fearful 
crime,  in  the  loose  way  in  which  he  throws 
about  his  terrific  asseverations.  He  may 
swear  most  solemnly  to  do  that  which,  in 
the  next  moment  or  the  next  day,  he  may 
conclude  to  leave  undone.  Or  upon  mis- 
information, he  may  sincerely  swear  to  the 
truth  of  that  which  is  afterward  shown  to 
be  false.  There  may  be  a  hundred  differ- 
ent ways,  in  which  a  man  careless  of 
his  speech  may  be  trapped  into  glaring 
falsehoods  ;  and  these  when  confirmed  by 
an  oath,  bring  one  into  hazardous  near- 
ness to  a  crime  of  which  he  may  not 
dream  ;  and  which  brought  home  to  his 
conscience  would  fill  him  with  horror. 

In  this  connection,  permit  me  to  sug- 
gest a  thought  not  often  used  as  an  argu- 
ment  against  swearing.      Why    should    a 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 45 

man  swear  at  all  ?  The  reply  is,  to  give 
emphasis  to  what  he  is  saying.  But  what 
need  is  there  of  any  emphasis  ?  Why  is  it 
not  enough  in  ordinary  intercourse  to  say, 
yea,  yea,  or  nay,  nay?  What  more  is 
wanted  between  man  and  man  than  the 
simple  statement  of  truth  ?  Why  should 
any  one  put  suspicion  upon  his  veracity  by 
unnecessary  and  continual  emphasis  on 
what  he  says  ?  If  he  knows  that  he  speaks 
the  truth,  what  need  is  there  of  these  ex- 
pletives? And  why  must  he  clinch  every 
statement  with  these  tremendous  oaths 
which  drag  the  Almighty  into  the  conflict 
with  the  unbelief  of  his  neighbor?  Un- 
truthfulness may  be  disclosed  not  only  in 
deviation  from  the  truth,  but  also  in  the 
suspicion  that  others  know  it.  It  should 
be  a  sufficient  protection  against  this  com- 
mon vice,  that  the  "oath  for  confirmation" 
weakens  the  word  by  the  intensity  of  the 
useless  emphasis.  If  a  man  be  recognized 
as  honest  and  true,  his  word  will  be  ac- 
cepted as  his  bond ;  and  he  betrays  a 
foolish  fear,  if  he  undertakes  to  bolster 
that  word  with  a  profusion  of  imprecatory 
oaths.  I  commend  this  thought  to  those 
who  find  it  necessary  to  back  every  asser- 
tion with  an  appeal  to  the  omniscience  of 
God. 


I46     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

V.  Profaneness  is  aggravated  by  the 
thought  of  its  utter  unprofitableness.  Most 
vices  offer  a  balance  sheet  of  profit,  even 
though  it  be  both  temporary  and  small  ; 
but  what  possible  gain  is  found  in  profane 
swearing  ?  Robert  Hall,  in  his  caustic 
style,  terms  it  "  the  superfluity  of  naught- 
iness " — a  sort  of  "  pepper-corn  rent  which 
a  man  pays  in  acknowledgment  of  the 
Devil's  authority. "  And  the  milder  Bar- 
row of  the  English  Church  says,  "of  all 
the  dealers  in  sin,  the  swearer  is  the  most 
thriftless;  because  he  sins  gratis."  It  is 
therefore  without  the  poor  excuse  of  neces- 
sity or  advantage,  by  which  other  sins  are 
apologized  for  :  it  is  the  most  wanton  of 
all  offences  against  the  Divine  law.  What 
defence  can  be  set  up  for  this  vile  and  per- 
nicious use  of  the  tongue,  which  David  de- 
clares to  be  the  glory  of  our  frame  ?  Un- 
der every  aspect  in  which  it  can  be  viewed, 
the  habit  is  without  excuse  or  palliation. 
The  language  is  unintelligent,  even  silly  : 
it  must  be  proscribed  as  an  offence  against 
good  breeding ;  it  always  loosens  the  bond 
by  which  society  is  held  together  ;  and  it 
violates  all  the  instincts  of  religion  in  the 
soul. 

In  closing  this  lecture,    I  may  be  asked 
by  some  of  the  young  men  present  "  Why 


SIN    OF    PROFANE    SWEARING.  1 47 

do  you  address  this  particularly  to  us,  see- 
ing the  habit  is  so  universal?"  My  an- 
swer is,  just  because  it  is  universal  there  is 
no  way  of  stopping  it  in  its  course  but  by 
breaking  the  succession  of  those  who  trans- 
gress. The  stream  must  be  cut  off  at  the 
fountain  :  if  the  young  could  be  persuaded 
to  abstain  from  this  unwholesome  practice, 
it  might  possibly  be  dried  up  in  a  genera- 
tion or  two.  Again,  the  young  are  per- 
haps peculiarly  exposed  to  this  vice.  The 
liveliness  oi  their  disposition  may  easily  be- 
tray them  into  extravagance  of  speech  : 
their  want  of  experience  has  not  shown 
the  importance  of  measuring  their  words, 
so  that  they  shall  never  pass  beyond  the 
bounds  of  truth.  At  any  rate,  my  young 
friends,  the  habit  is  not  so  confirmed  in 
you,  as  in  those  who  are  older  ;  and  it  may 
be,  you  will  be  inclined  to  listen  to  the 
voice  of  reason,  if  not  to  the  authority  of 
religion,  when  both  set  before  you  a  prac- 
tice which  even  common  sense  universally 
deprecates. 


LECTURE  IX. 
SIN  OF  SABBATH-BREAKING. 


Exodus  xx.  8-ii — "  Remember  the  Sabbath-day  to 
keep  it  holy.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy 
tvork :  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  ;  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son, 
nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-ser- 
vant, nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy 
gates  ;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the 
sea ,  and  all that in  them  is.  and  rested  the  seventh  day; 
wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath-day  and  hallowed 

itr 

Pursuing  the  line  of  criticism  opened  in 
the  preceding  lecture,  I  am  led  to-night  to 

URGE  THE  CLAIMS  OF  THE  SABBATH  AND 
TO  SHOW  THE  GUILT  INCURRED  IN  ITS  DESE- 
CRATION. Perhaps  of  all  sins  forbidden 
in  the  Decalogue,  not  one  rests  more  light- 
ly upon  the  conscience  than  the  violation 
of  the  Sabbath.  For  this,  three  reasons 
may  be  assigned  :  first,  it  is  regarded  by 
many  as  a  positive  institute  merely,  based 
upon    authority    alone    and   without  any 


I50     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

moral  ground  of  support.  So  it  is  argued, 
the  transgression  is  comparatively  slight 
as  not  committed  against  one's  own  moral 
convictions.  Again,  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  clashes  with  earthly  interests  at 
every  point,  exposing  to  the  temptation 
of  constant  evasion  ;  and  there  is  no  surer 
way  of  debauching  the  conscience  than  by 
the  constant  suppression  of  its  testimony. 
Further,  the  allowed  exceptions  of  "  neces- 
sity "  and  "  mercy  "  are  somewhat  indefi- 
nite, and  call  for  wise  discretion  in  deter- 
mining them.  It  is  therefore  the  more 
necessary  to  set  forth  the  grounds  upon 
which  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  may 
be  firmly  established. 

I.  Taking  then  the  lowest  ground \  that 
the  Sabbath  is  a  positive  institute  only,  hav- 
ing no  foundation  but  the  Divine  command, 
it  follows  that  its  desecration  is  an  act  of 
fiaked  rebellion.  God's  authority  is  final, 
in  every  case  binding  upon  the  conscience. 
Is  it  allowed  under  any  government,  hu- 
man or  Divine,  to  go  behind  the  law  and 
determine  its  propriety  before  obedience 
shall  be  rendered  ?  Would  not  such  a 
principle  vacate  all  law,  and  disable  every 
government?  In  the  instance  before  us, 
the    assumption    is    peculiarly   flagitious. 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  I  5  I 

We  know  that  the  Lawgiver  here  is  in- 
finitely wise  and  good  ;  His  commands 
must  therefore  rest  upon  sufficient  grounds, 
whether  they  are  disclosed  to  us  or  not. 
The  Divine  character  is  guarantee  for  the 
wisdom  and  beneficence  of  the  law  ;  and 
the  reasons,  if  revealed,  ought  to  satisfy 
the  judgment  of  every  creature.  The  fact 
that  He  sees  fit  to  withhold  these  from  our 
knowledge  does  not  weaken,  but  rather 
strengthens,  the  obligation  to  obey  ;  be- 
cause then  the  obedience  founds  not  upon 
our  judgment  of  the  law,  but  upon  the 
guarantee  of  His  perfections.  What  there- 
fore is  often  urged  in  extenuation  of  Sab- 
bath-breaking, turns  into  an  aggravation 
of  the  offence. 

A  significant  illustration  of  the  principle 
here  involved,  vvill  be  found  in  the  history 
of  man's  original  probation  in  the  garden 
of  Eden.  This  probation,  it  will  be  re^ 
membered,  turned  upon  a  point  in  itself 
indifferent — precisely  adapted  as  the  test  of 
obedience.  A  single  injunction  was  laid 
upon  our  first  parent:  "of  every  tree  of 
the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat ;  but  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  that 
thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die." 
(Genesis  n.    16-17.)     Here  then  is  a  posi- 


152      FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

tive  command  touching  an  act  which, 
aside  from  this  restriction,  was  morally  in- 
different ;  and  which  consequently  was 
simply  an  expression  of  the  Divine  will. 
But  for  this  very  reason,  that  it  was  an  asser- 
tion of  the  Divine  supremacy,  it  tested  per- 
fectly the  spirit  of  obedience  which  rested 
nakedly  upon  the  authority  of  the  Law- 
giver. So  with  the  law  of  the  Sabbath : 
let  it  be  granted  that  no  reason  can  be  as- 
signed for  the  reservation  of  it,  except  the 
bare  authority  of  Jehovah — this  alone  con- 
stitutes it  the  test  of  our  obedience.  It  is 
needful  that  such  a  test  should  exist,  un- 
der all  the  dispensations  of  law  or  grace  in 
which  man  shall  be  found,  as  illustrating 
the  nature  of  the  obedience  required  of 
him.  If  such  dismal  consequences  fol- 
lowed the  first  transgression  of  authority, 
when 

"  Earth  felt  the  wound,  and  Nature  from  her  seat 
Sighing  through  all  her  works  gave  signs  ot  woe 
That  all  was  lost ;  " 

surely  the  danger  of  trifling  with  it  is  suf- 
ficiently shown.  Through  all  the  Scrip- 
tures God  is  shown  to  be  jealous  of  His 
sovereignty,  making  the  denial  of  His  su- 
premacy a  perilous  issue  to  be  joined. 

II.    But  the  Sabbath  is  not  without  a  sup- 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  I  53 

porting  moral  foundation.  It  was  appointed 
at  the  very  beginning  as  the  memorial  of 
God 's  creative  power >  and  of  the  rights  ac- 
cruing  therefrom.  It  is  expressly  stated  in 
the  Decalogue  that,  ' '  in  six  days  God 
made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and  all 
that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day  ;  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sab- 
bath day  and  hallowed  it."  On  turning 
to  the  earlier  record,  you  will  find  this  a 
reproduction  of  the  language  employed 
at  the  Creation  :  "on  the  seventh  day 
God  ended  His  work  which  He  had  made  ; 
and  He  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from 
all  His  work  which  He  had  made  ;  and  God 
blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanctified  it ; 
because  that  in  it  He  had  rested  from  all 
His  work  which  God  created  and  made." 
(Gen.  ii.  2-3.)  Those  of  you  who  are 
familiar  with  the  speculations  in  philos- 
ophy through  all  the  ages,  will  un- 
derstand the  importance  of  this  Divine  tes- 
timony as  to  the  origin  of  the  Universe. 
Science,  by  her  own  acknowledgment,  can 
only  observe  the  phenomena,  and  trace 
the  causes  by  which  they  are  immediately 
produced  and  the  laws  under  which  these 
forces  are  seen  to  operate.  What  occurred 
at  the  earliest  beginning,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  can  be  known  only  from  testi- 


154     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

mony :  and  the  only  being  competent  to 
deliver  that  testimony  is  the  Creator  Him- 
self. Hence  the  value  even  to  philosophy 
and  science  of  these  first  two  chapters  in 
the  book  of  Genesis.  From  these  alone 
we  have  knowledge  how  the  universe 
came  into  being  ;  and  we  know  it  from  the 
declaration  of  Him  by  whose  voice  it  was 
called  out  of  nothing — "so  that  things 
which  are  seen  were  not  made  of  things 
which  do  appear."  We  may  lengthen  the 
interval  which  separates  us  from  that  be- 
ginning, as  much  as  we  please ;  and  we 
may  imagine  the  process  by  which  the 
worlds  were  fashioned  and  thrown  into 
space  ;  but  we  know  from  infallible  testi- 
mony that  matter  is  not  eternal,  and  that 
it  exists  alone  by  the  power  of  Him  who 
first  brought  it  into  being.  The  Sabbath 
then  lifts  its  shaft  from  the  moment  of  the 
Creation  high  above  all  history,  testifying 
through  the  ages  to  the  end  of  time  that 
4 '  through  faith  we  understand  the  worlds 
were  framed  by  the  word  of  God." 

Associated  with  this  great  truth  are  the 
proprietary  rights  of  Jehovah  as  the  Crea- 
tor of  all  things,  The  Sabbath  comes  to 
man  asserting  God's  supremacy  over  him  ; 
and  in  keeping  this  holy  day,  he  makes 
acknowledgment   of  his  dependence  upon 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  I  55 

4 'the  Father  of  lights  from  whom  cometh 
down  every  good  and  perfect  gift."  It  is 
the  confession  of  man's  creatureship,  and 
of  all  the  duties  which  grow  out  of  it. 
Like  the  ancient  tithe,  the  Sabbath  is  a 
Divine  royalty,  reserved  by  Jehovah  to 
Himself  and  His  own  uses.  It  does  not 
belong  to  man  in  fee-simple  ;  it  never  did 
so  belong  to  him  ;  it  never  will  be  his  by 
absolute  right,  to  the  end  of  time.  It  is 
given  to  him  for  specified  uses,  and  only 
under  these  limitations  is  it  his  at  all. 
From  the  beginning  God  separated  the 
Sabbath  from  the  week  as  the  property  of 
man  :  the  six  days  are  his,  but  the  Sabbath 
is  the  Lord's.  It  lies  between  the  weeks 
of  labor,  the  golden  clasp  which  holds 
them  together — the  condition  upon  which 
Jehovah  has  granted  this  arrangement  of 
time  which  shall  be  continuous  through  hu- 
man history  until  the  consummation  of  all 
things. 

The  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  rests  pri- 
marily upon  this  ;  that  it  belongs  to  God 
by  a  solemn  and  exclusive  reservation  of  it 
to  Himself;  and  it  is  ours  to  be  employed 
for  Him  and  to  the  manifestation  of  His 
gloryr  It  raises  its  testimonial  spire  from 
the  first  Sabbath  in  Paradise  to  the  eternal 
Sabbath  in  Heaven,  proclaiming  that  Jeho- 


I56     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

vah  is  the  proprietor  of  all  things,  and  the 
supreme  object  of  worship  in  Heaven  and 
in  Earth.  The  misappropriation  of  it  to 
loreign  uses  is  simply  theft.  What  right 
has  any  man  to  that  which  is  not  his  ?  Ah, 
my  friends,  when  we  are  talking  about 
rights,  let  us  remember  that  Almighty 
God  has  His,  as  well  as  we  ;  and  of  these 
He  cannot  be  divested  :  for  of  all  proprie- 
tors, He  has  the  most  power  to  enforce 
His  claims.  Never  forget  that,  however 
long  these  may  be  held  in  abeyance 
through  the  audacious  usurpation  of  the 
creature,  there  will  come  a  fearful  reclama- 
tion when  the  world  is  summoned  to  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day.  The  violation 
of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  is  not  only 
an  act  of  simple  disobedience  to  authority, 
but  of  contumacy  and  constructive  apos- 
tasy. 

III.  The  Sabbath  is  allowed  to  man  in  miti- 
gation of  the  curse  of  lab  or t  which  imposes  tip  on 
us  the  obligation  of  gratitude.  Immediately 
after  the  Fall,  the  curse  was  pronounced  in 
these  words:  "cursed  is  the  ground  for 
thy  sake  ;  in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all 
the  days  of  thy  life  ;  in  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return 
unto  the  ground  ;  for   out   of  it  wast  thou 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  I  57 

taken  ;  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
thou  shalt  return."  (Gen.  in.  17-19.) 
It  is  before  your  eyes  wherever  you  turn, 
that  this  curse  is  upon  the  sons  of  men  to 
the  present  hour  ;  the  mass  of  the  human 
family  are  simply  struggling  for  subsistence 
everywhere,  living  not  so  much  from  day 
to  day,  as  from  meal  to  meal.  God  in 
His  mercy  has  exempted  the  holy  Sabbath 
from  the  operation  of  this  curse,  and  has 
made  it  a  day  of  rest.  Were  it  kept  as  it 
should  be,  the  hum  of  industry  would  be 
hushed  over  the  earth,  every  spindle  would 
be  stopped,  and  the  world  would  have  its 
appointed  repose.  The  vision  of  the  poet 
would  be  realized : 

"  How  still  the  morning  of  the  hallow'd  day. 
Mute  is  the  voice  of  rural  labor,  hush'd 
The  plowboy's  whistle,  and  the  milkmaid's  song." 

There  is  an  accumulation  of  facts,  easily 
produced  if  wanted,  showing  man's  need 
of  the  supplemental  rest  of  the  Sabbath, 
in  order  to  keep  him  in  body  and  mind 
fairly  in  repair.  So  far  is  it  from  diminish- 
ing the  products  of  toil,  they  prosper  most 
who  by  this  supplemental  rest  are  better 
fitted  to  endure  the  six  days'  toil.  I  re- 
member when  first  coming  to  this  State 
asking  a  sugar-planter,  not  fifty  miles  from 
this  city,  whether  it  was  really  necessary 


158  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

to  violate  the  Sabbath  during  the  grinding 
season:  the  emphatic  answer  was,  "Sir, 
the  leather  bands  by  which  our  machinery 
is  run  need  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath.  "  Cer- 
tainly this  is  a  strong  statement  of  the 
necessity  of  the  Sabbath :  if  even  inani- 
mate things  cannot  undergo  a  ceaseless 
strain  without  disintegration,  how  much 
more  is  this  stated  intermission  of  labor  re- 
quired for  so  complicated  a  structure  as 
that  of  man  ? 

Take  another  view  of  this  matter,  in- 
volving a  moral  element.  The  inequali- 
ties of  life  introduce  many  forms  of  servi- 
tude :  it  may  not  be  in  the  severe  form  of 
slavery  ;  but  in  some  form  or  other  the 
necessities  of  life  will  compel  some  to  labor 
for  others  whom  Providence  has  placed  in 
better  positions  than  themselves.  All  over 
the  land  the  distinction  is  drawn  between 
the  employer  and  the  employed.  The 
clerk  must  ^ork  through  the  hours  ap- 
pointed by  the  merchant ;  and  so  with  the 
laborer  in  the  field,  and  the  artisan  at  his 
trade  :  the  necessity  of  earning  to-morrow's 
bread  by  the  toil  of  to  day,  will  put  one 
man  under  the  control  of  another.  How 
gratefully  should  these  children  of  toil  wel- 
come the  Sabbath,  which  blots  out  for  a 
little    moment  these  artificial  distinctions, 


SIN  OF  SABBATH-EREAKING.  I  59 

and  brings  the  whole  race  to  equality  be- 
fore God  !  Eeyond  the  works  of  necessity 
and  mercy  equally  binding  upon  all,  the 
Sabbath  brings  a  remission  of  the  woe  de- 
nounced against  sinful  man  ;  and  by  giving 
bread  without  labor  affords  to  all  the  pledge 
of  providential  care.  Of  what  priceless 
value  to  the  poor  man  is  the  day  of  rest, 
affording  time  for  the  indulgence  of  the  af- 
fections, and  drawing  closer  the  ties  of  do- 
mestic life?  In  every  social  and  temporal 
aspect,  the  Sabbath  comes  to  every  home 
with  a  Divine  blessing,  and  sanctifies  the 
days  which  must  be  given  to  necessary 
toil. 

IV.  Finally,  the  Sabbat  J i  urges  its  claim 
upon  our  regard  as  the  symbol  of  religion 
under  all  Dispensations;  and  is  designed  for 
the  culture  of  our  higher  and  religious  nature. 
To  cancel  the  Sabbath  is  to  abrogate  all 
worship,  if  not  to  ignore  the  Deity  by 
whom  we  have  been  created  and  fashioned. 
Even  in  natural  religion,  when  man  first 
worshiped  God  in  perfect  holiness  and 
without  the  taint  of  sin,  it  is  found.  It  is 
a  significant  fact  that  the  first  day  which 
the  created  man  spent  upon  earth,  was  the 
Sabbath  which  the  Lord  God  had  sancti- 
fied.     As  he  opened  his  eyes  on  the  new- 


l60     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

created  world,  he  was  greeted  with  the 
light  of  the  first  Sabbath  morn  ;  and  in  the 
holy  service  of  that  day,  as  the  priest  of 
nature,  he  gathered  up  the  praises  of  all  the 
creatures  and  poured  them  as  incense  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God.  As  before  he  was 
constituted  vice-regent,  with  dominion 
over  the  lower  animals,  in  the  act  of  giving 
the  names  to  each  ;  so  again,  he  is  inaugu- 
rated in  his  solemn  priesthood  in  this  earli- 
est act  of  representative  worship  on  the 
first  day  of  the  Lord.  Not  only  so  :  on 
this  first  day  of  his  own  being,  he  brings 
the  first  fruits  of  his  life  and  offers  it  as  a 
sacrifice  upon  the  Divine  altar.  It  was  the 
pledge  that  all  of  thought  and  desire  and 
worship  and  life  itself,  which  should  be  his 
in  the  years  to  come,  they  were  all  brought 
in  this  comprehensive  worship  and  offered 
to  the  Creator. 

We  find  the  Sabbath,  after  the  Fall, 
still  the  symbol  of  religious  homage,  trans- 
ferred from  the  religion  of  Nature  to  the 
religion  of  Grace — showing  that  God  will 
still  be  merciful  to  the  transgressor.  It  is 
incorporated  in  the  Decalogue,  when  the 
Mosaic  Economy  was  set  up  with  its  im- 
posing ritual  of  worship — a  symbol  still  of 
the  rest  which  should  be  the  portion  of  the 
believer  through  the  redemption  by  Christ, 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  l6t 

which  was  the  burden  of  that  typical  Dis- 
pensation. Thus  it  passed  again  into  the 
Christian  Economy,  becoming  the  memo- 
rial of  our  Saviour's  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  In  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  the  Apostle  elaborately 
argues,  that  He  (Jesus)  having  ''entered 
into  His  rest  had  ceased  from  His  works, 
as  God  did  from  His."  Thus  the  Sabbath 
rest  at  the  Creation  passes  down  through 
every  intervening  Dispensation,  Jewish  and 
Christian,  until  it  points  to  the  eternal  Sab- 
bath in  Heaven,  where  the  glorified  Re- 
deemer will  gather  all  His  saints  forever. 
The  Sabbath  then  is  to  be  a  day  of  rest, 
not  only  in  cessation  from  bodily  labor, 
but  in  that  repose  which  we  are  to  find  in  the 
salvation  of  the  soul  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Whether  in  Natural  or  Revealed  religion, 
and  under  all  the  Dispensations  of  Grace, 
it  is  the  symbol  of  worship  and  a  pledge  of 
the  rest  we  are  to  enjoy  in  the  bosom  of 
God  forevermore. 

Three  practical  suggestions  will  enforce 
the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  presented 
above.  First,  the  Sabbath  is  as  great  a 
necessity  to  us  as  ever  it  has  been  to  others 
in  the  past.  The  physical  rest  is  impera- 
tively needed  by  us,  even  more  than  by 
those   who   lived    in   the   more   easy-going 


1 62     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

ages  of  our  forefathers.  Our  civilization 
is  vastly  more  complex  ;  competition  in  all 
the  industries  of  society  is  more  severe; 
the  forms  of  labor  are  being  constantly 
changed ;  in  all  directions  there  is  more 
drive  and  push  than  was  ever  known  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  As  the  inventive 
genius  of  the  time  is  daily  substituting  the 
endurance  of  machinery  for  the  sinew  and 
muscle  of  the  living  arm,  lifting  up  new 
forms  of  industry  whilst  abolishing  the  old, 
the  hold  on  life  becomes  to  the  laborer 
more  slippery — increasing  by  so  much  the 
necessity  for  incessant  toil.  Do  we  not 
then  require  the  repose  which  the  Sabbath 
brings,  above  the  generations  preceding 
our  own  ?  Of  all  nations  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth,  the  American  people  are  most 
in  need  of  this  supplemental  rest.  With 
their  characteristic  energy  and  push,  there 
is  an  expenditure  of  nervous  force,  which, 
increasing  with  the  progress  of  time, 
threatens  the  direst  results  at  no  far  dis- 
tant period.  As  a  single  illustration  of  the 
impending  danger,  take  but  the  fearful 
rate  at  which  insanity  increases  in  our  time 
— due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  intense 
strain  upon  the  brain  and  the  entire  ner- 
vous system.  Remember,  too,  that  evils  of 
this  kind  accumulate  in  their  transmission 


SIN    OF    SABBATH-BREAKING.  163 

from  father  to  son  ;  and  measure,  if  you 
can,  the  inheritance  we  are  bequeathing 
to  posterity  in  the  transmission  of  only 
this  one  frightful  disorder.  Is  this  the 
time,  and  are  we  the  people,  to  yield  to 
the  greed  of  avarice  that  measure  of  repose 
which  the  beneficent  Creator  has  provided 
in  the  peaceful  Sabbath  ?  See  in  the  inci- 
dental reference  to  one  form  of  physical 
disaster  made  above,  what  resources  are  in 
the  hand  of  the  Almighty  to  punish  the  in- 
fraction of  His  holy  law.  The  Sabbath, 
like  those  ancient  Egyptian  monuments 
whose  mysterious  inscriptions  antiquarians 
are  now  laboriously  seeking  to  discipher, 
is  a  monumental  shaft  proclaiming  the 
rights  of  God  as  the  Creator,  and  of  man's 
responsibilities  as  a  being  fashioned  in  the 
Divine  image  for  the  worship  of  the  Su- 
preme. 

Again  :  the  Sabbath  is  commended  to 
our  special  care,  because  assailed  by  com- 
bined forces  in  the  day  in  which  we  live. 
The  insane  passion  of  men  for  the  accumu- 
lation of  wealth,  denounced  even  by  heath- 
en moralists  as  the  accursed  lust  for  gold 
("  Auri  sacra  fames");  the  sensuality 
which  would  appropriate  its  leisure  for  the 
indulgence  of  its  lusts  ;  the  infidelity  which, 
as  in  the  French  Revolution,  would  destroy 


164  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

the  Sabbath  as  the  bulwark  of  Christianity  ; 
and  above  all  these  in  the  sweep  and  pow- 
er of  its  influence,  the  greed  of  soulless 
corporations,  pleading  the  necessities  of 
commerce  for  the  obliteration  of  this  sacred 
landmark  of  time  from  the  beginning :  all 
these  seriously  threaten  the  existence  of 
this  holy  day  even  in  this  Christian  land  in 
which  we  live.  For  this  reason  I  am  the 
more  importunate  with  the  young  men  of 
this  assembly,  to  feel  the  responsibility 
upon  them  to  rescue  it  from  desecration 
and  possible  destruction. 

Beyond  both  these  considerations,  I 
urge  the  importance  of  the  Sabbath  for  the 
cultivation  of  your  religious  nature.  You 
cannot  thro  w  this  aside  without  lowering 
yourself  to  the  condition  of  but  a  higher 
brute.  The  educational  value  of  the  Sab- 
bath cannot  be  overestimated,  not  only  in 
bringing  men  together  in  united  worship 
of  Jehovah,  but  in  teaching  those  subordi- 
nate duties  which  men  owe  to  each  other 
in  the  various  relations  of  society. 

As  the  final  utterance  of  this  Lecture,  I 
press  the  fact  attested  by  the  observation 
of  Christian  men  everywhere  ;  that  the  first 
step  to  utter  demoralization  and  ruin  with 
young  men,  is  the  desecration  of  the  day 
which  God  has  reserved  for  Himself  as  a 


SIN    OF    SABBATH- BREAKING.  1 65 

day  of  rest  and  solemn  worship.  Of  all 
the  classes  of  young  men,  this  observation 
holds  true,  with  almost  unerring  certainty, 
of  such  as  are  born  of  pious  parents,  and 
who  break  away  from  all  the  traditions  and 
instructions  of  their  early  youth.  Peculi- 
arly to  them  it  is  the  entrance  upon  the 
downward  path,  becoming  steeper  as  they 
descend :  and  too  often  they  are  cut  off 
mid-way  in  their  declension,  and  are  sud- 
denly precipitated  in  the  abyss  below. 


^@„@s> 


LECTURE   X. 

INTEMPERANCE  AND  SINS  OF  THE 
FLESH. 


Proverbs  xxiii.  31-32 — "Look  not  thou  upon  the 
wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the  cup, 
when  it  moveth  itself  aright :  at  last  itbiteth  like  a  serpent, 
it  stingeth  like  an  adder.'1''     Also, 

Ephesians  v.  18. — "  And  be  not  drunk  with  wine, 
wherein  is  excess. " 

With  confessed  reluctance  I  entered 
upon  the  discussion  of  vices,  which  im- 
plied their  prevalence  in  society  around 
us :  it  is  always  a  distasteful  office  to  be- 
come the  accuser  of  others,  especially  as 
in  possession  of  the  same  sinful  nature  one 
may  be  overtaken  by  his  own  indictment. 
In  addition  to  this  reluctance,  which  I 
must  express  anew,  there  is  a  peculiar  em- 
barrassment in  taking  up  the  subject  of 
this  evening's  Lecture.  It  arises  from  the 
fact  that  I  desire  to  be  understood  as 
meaning  a  great  deal  more  than  I  dare 
openly  to  utter.  I  wish  you  to  perceive 
an  undertone  of  warning  in  the  voice  that 


[68     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

speaks  to  you  to-nfght — a  hidden  meaning 
in  the  words  falling  from  my  lips,  which 
your  own  penetration  must  discover  and 
apply.  If  intemperance  in  the  use  of  in- 
toxicating drinks  forms  the  leading  topic, 
it  is  only  one  of  the  many  sins  committed 
against  the  flesh.  There  is  gluttony,  for 
example,  that  voracity  of  appetite  in 
which  a  man  resembles  a  ravening  beast, 
when  it  falls  upon  its  prey.  There  are 
the  varied  forms  of  debauchery  ;  the  un- 
cleanness  of  which  is  so  debasing  that  they 
cannot  even  be  mentioned  by  name,  nor 
discussed  in  detail  before  any  public  as- 
sembly. Yet  I  wish  them  all  understood 
as  included  in  the  censure  of  this  discourse  : 
and  though  it  may  be  impossible  to  frame 
the  language  specially  for  each,  I  must  ask 
you  to   carry   the   application   over  to  all 

THE  VICES  OF  WHICH  INTEMPERANCE  MAY 
BE  REGARDED  AS  TYPICALLY  REPRESENTA- 
TIVE. 

I.  /  would  say  then  that  drunkenness, 
with  all  the  sins  of  its  class,  offends 
against  the  sanctity  of  the  human  body. 
This  body,  declared  by  the  Psalmist  to  be 
"fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,"  is  it  not 
entitled  to  reverence?  Stand  by  the  ana- 
tomist,   as  he  takes    the    curious    mecha- 


SINS    OF    THE    FLESH.  1 69 

nism  to  pieces.  How  multitudinous  its 
parts,  and  with  what  singular  harmony 
they  are  adjusted  !  How  wonderful  the 
net-work  of  nerves  strung,  like  telegraphic 
wires,  along  the  frame  and  conveying  all 
reports  from  without  to  the  hidden  seat  of 
the  senses  !  Behold  that  mysterious  power 
which  touches  all  the  keys  of  this  mar- 
velously  complex  instrument ;  sending,  on 
these  wires  of  secret  communication,  to 
the  most  distant  member  the  dictates  of 
the  will.  Look  at  this  body,  erect  in  sta- 
ture, the  last  workmanship  of  the  Creator, 
after  He  had  fashioned  the  sun,  moon  and 
stars,  and  pronounced  them  "very  good." 
How  worthy  of  veneration  this  human 
lorm,  which  God  has  consecrated  as  the 
temple  of  the  indwelling  soul  ;  the  shrine  of 
that  image  of  the  living  Jehovah  after  which 
he  was  formed  !  How  indispensable  this 
earthly  frame  as  the  medium  of  intercourse 
between  man  and  man  !  How  great  the 
glory  with  which  it  is  invested  by  redeem- 
ing grace,  ennobled  in  its  resurrection 
from  the  grave,  transformed  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  into  the  spiritual  body, 
and  blessed  with  an  immortality  akin  to 
that  of  the  soul ! 

You    are    perhaps     surprised     at     the 
warmth  of  this  eulogy,    pronounced    upon 


I70  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

that  part  of  our  being  which  is  so  often  de- 
livered over  to  indiscriminate  and  silly 
abuse.  Permit  me  to  say  that  the  genius 
of  Christianity  is  infinitely  removed  from 
that  Manichean  sentiment  which  affects  to 
despise  the  body  as  the  seat  of  sins  truly 
chargeable  upon  the  spirit,  and  of  which 
the  body  is  but  the  instrument  and  organ. 
Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  does  it  foster  that 
idolatrous  self-love,  which  pampers  the 
flesh  and  thinks  only  of  its  adornment.  It 
is  nevertheless  a  part  of  our  complex 
being  ;  through  the  possession  of  which  we 
are  distinguished  from  the  angels  above, 
as  by  the  possession  of  spirit  we  are  dis- 
tinguished from  the  brutes  below.  The 
body  is  so  truly  a  part  of  man,  that  it  is 
not  destroyed  even  in  death  :  while  the 
structure  is  dissolved,  its  identity  is  pre- 
served and  manifested  in  the  resurrection. 
Indeed,  to  destroy  it,  would  be  to  destroy 
him ;  merging  him  into  a  distinct  class  of 
beings,  from  which  it  is  intended  he  should 
be  separated  by  this  union  of  matter  and 
spirit. 

What  shall  we  think  then  of  those  habits 
and  acts  which  degrade  and  deface  the 
body  ?  The  Apostle  declares  that  of 
the  Christian  to  be  "  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  "  shall  this  temple  be  defiled 


SINS  OF  THE    FLESH.  \J\ 

with  any  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,  which  it 
is  not  lawful  so  much  as  to  name  ?  Pass 
them  secretly  through  your  mind,  as  I  sug- 
gested at  the  outset,  and  see  if  it  be  not  a 
profanation  to  render  the  body  the  organ 
of  these  enormities.  It  becomes  every 
man,  therefore,  to  reverence  his  body  as 
God's  workmanship,  given  for  worthy  and 
even  sacred  uses,  and  which  he  should 
keep  in  purity  in  some  measure  even  as  the 
soul. 

II.  Though  not  logically  distinct,  I  sig- 
nalize the  fact  that  these  sins  of  the  flesh 
are  the  source  of  physical  disease,  and  are 
therefore  to  the  last  degree  criminal.  In 
one  particular  there  is  a  distinction  between 
the  sins  committed  against  God,  and  the 
offences  committed  against  society.  The 
former  are  ordinarily  reserved  for  punish- 
ment in  a  future  state  :  whilst  the  latter  are 
overtaken  with  early  and  condign  punish- 
ment in  the  present  life.  A  man  may  be 
an  atheist,  proclaiming  his  denial  of  God 
through  a  long  life  of  seeming  prosperity 
and  happiness :  the  blasphemy  is  not 
avenged  by  the  lightning's  stroke,  nor 
does  the  earth  open  to  swallow  him  up  as 
it  did  Dathan  and  Abiram  of  old.  A  man 
may  deny  the    Lord   Jesus   Christ  all   his 


172     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

days,  throwing  contemptuously  behind  him 
the  offers  of  salvation  made  to  him  by  the 
Gospel ;  and  the  Divine  displeasure  will 
not  be  visited  on  him  by  any  Providential 
calamity.  On  the  contrary,  the  offences 
against  society  are  subject  to  immediate 
arrest  by  a  penalty  which  the  Creator  has 
infixed  in  the  constitution  of  the  human 
frame.  The  reason  for  this  discrimination 
is  obvious  to  every  reflecting  mind.  The 
sins  committed  directly  against  God  are 
acts  of  simple  and  futile  insolence.  The 
arrows  shot  from  any  human  bow  do  not 
strike  the  stars,  much  less  the  throne  of 
majesty  on  which  the  Ruler  of  the  Uni- 
verse sits  secure.  "  He  that  sitteth  in  the 
heavens  shall  laugh  ;  the  Lord  shall  have 
them  in  derision."  He,  almighty  in  power 
and  supreme  in  authority,  can  afford  to  be 
patient  and  postpone  retribution  until  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day.  But  those 
transgressions  which  unhinge  society, 
must  be  checked  ;  or  the  disintegration 
of  society  will  bring  it  soon  to  utter  ruin. 
Hence  the  sins  of  the  flesh  are  visited  with 
early  tokens  of  the  Divine  displeasure. 
You  notice  it  in  the  diseases  which  fasten 
themselves  incurably  upon  those  who  give 
themselves  over  to  debauchery  in  any  of 
its  forms.     The  mere  naturalist  may  allege 


SINS    OF    THE    FLESH.  1 73 

that  this  proceeds  alone  from  the  violation 
of  recognized  natural  laws  :  it  must  not  be 
overlooked  by  whom  those  natural  laws 
were  in  the  first  instance  ordained,  and  un- 
der whose  supervision  they  continue  to  be 
enforced.  It  is  the  Divine  hand  imposing  a 
restraint  upon  the  indulgence  of  appetites 
and  lusts  which,  unless  checked,  will  de- 
stroy society.  The  inspired  writer  marks 
the  distinction,  when  he  says,  "some 
men's  sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  be- 
fore to  judgment ;  and  some  men  they  fol- 
low after."     (i  Tim.  v.  24.) 

Human  legislation  is  at  pains  to  express 
abhorrence  of  certain  crimes,  which  espe- 
cially militate  against  the  temporal  welfare 
of  mankind.  The  murderer  and  suicide, 
for  example,  are  held  in  open  detestation  ; 
for  the  reason  that  life  is  the  gift  of  God, 
and  once  taken  or  lost  it  can  never  be  re- 
covered. No  man  therefore  is  allowed,  in 
the  madness  of  passion,  to  seize  that 
which  God  has  given  to  another,  and  which 
he  has  no  power  to  restore.  One  may  be 
robbed  of  his  wealth  and  may  live  to  re- 
cover more  than  he  lost,  as  Job  did  ;  but  if 
his  blood  is  spilt  on  the  ground,  the  power 
does  not  exist  on  earth  which  can  make 
good  his  loss.  In  the  case  of  the  suicide, 
the  old  English  law   expresses  its  abhor- 


174     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

rence  by  a  peculiar  enactment,  to-wit :  the 
body  of  such  should  be  buried  where  two 
roads  cross  each  other,  that  it  may  be 
trampled  on  by  the  greatest  number  pos- 
sible ;  and  as  though  denying  it  the  privi- 
lege of  resurrection,  it  was  ordained  that  a 
stake  should  be  driven  through  it,  pinning 
it  to  the  earth  in  which  it  was  laid. 

If  now,  in  the  judgment  of  fallible  men, 
it  be  such  a  crime  to  take  one's  own  life  by 
the  pistol  or  dagger,  will  you  tell  me  where 
he  comes  short  of  the  same  who  is  slowly 
but  surely  wasting  his  life  through  the 
wanton  indulgence  of  appetite  and  lust  ? 
What  right  has  the  creature  to  whom  God 
has  given  life  as  a  trust,  to  sap  the  vital 
force  within  him  through  unnatural  indul- 
gence ?  Is  the  melancholy  confession 
made  that  he  cannot  reform  ?  Alas,  to 
what  a  condition  of  slavery  is  such  an  one 
reduced  !  But  let  that  wretched  victim 
of  appetite  know  that  there  is  a  Divine 
power  able  to  break  the  fetters  in  which  he 
is  bound,  and  restore  him  to  the  freedom 
he  has  lost.  Let  him  but  get  conscience 
fairly  on  his  side,  with  full  conviction  that 
he  is  responsible  before  the  bar  of  God  for 
the  most  heinous  of  crimes  ;  and  under  a 
clear  sense  of  his  own  helplessness,  let 
him  lay  hold  of  the  strength    which  comes 


SINS   OF    THE    FLESH.  175 

from  above,  and  he  will  be  saved.  Be- 
cause these  vices  lay  the  foundation  of 
manifold  diseases,  therefore  it  is  a  crime 
to  indulge  in  any  of  them.  We  have  no 
more  right  to  take  our  own  life  by  degrees, 
than  at  once  by  immediate  violence  :  and 
no  more  right  to  take  our  own  life  than 
the  life  of  another. 

III.  T lie  guilt  of  intemperance  is  seen  in 
that  it  is  treason  against  the  higher  intellec- 
tual and  moral  nature  given  us  of  God.  In 
the  beautiful  language  of  Milton,  man  is 
11  endued  with  sanctity  of  reason,"  and  by 
this  distinguished  from  the  brute  creation  ; 
in  token  whereof  he  was  invested  with  do- 
minion over  the  creatures.  In  addition, 
the  arbiter  of  right  and  wrong  was  im- 
planted in  his  bosom,  which  we  style  con- 
science. By  virtue  of  this  double  gift 
man  becomes  a  being  under  law.  bound  to 
render  account  of  all  his  deeds  at  the  bar 
of  eternal  justice  :  in  testimony  of  which 
he  is  sisted,  in  this  present  life,  before 
this  lower  tribunal ;  which  is  but  the 
shadow  of  that  higher  court  in  which  the 
Judge  will  pronounce  the  final  destinies  of 
men. 

But  what  is  drunkenness  save  the  spong- 
ing out  of  those  characteristics  by  which 


\j6  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

men  are  distinguished  from  the  beasts  of 
the  field  ?  What  is  it  but  to  "  put  an  en- 
emy in  their  mouths  to  steal  away  their 
brains?  "  Alas,  it  is  more  than  to  extin- 
guish the  light  of  reason  :  it  blunts,  and 
for  the  time  disables,  the  faculty  by  which 
we  recognize  the  authority  of  the  Divine 
law,  thus  completing  the  apostasy  from 
ourselves.  You  will  recall  the  words  of 
Milton,  which  so  powerfully  describe  the 
foul  transformation  of  the  God-like  into 
something  worse  than  the  beast  : 

"  Soon  as  the  potion  works,  their  human  count'nance, 
Th'express  resemblance  of  the  gods,  is  changed 
Into  some  brutish  form  of  wolf  or  bear, 
Or  ounce,  or  tiger,  hog,  or  bearded  goat, 
All  other  parts  remaining  as  they  were: 
And  they,  so  perfect  is  their  misery, 
Not  once  perceive  their  foul  disfigurement 
But  boast  themselves  more  comely  than  before  ; 
And  all  their  friends  and  native  home  forget, 
To  roll  with  pleasure  in  a  sensual  sty." 

We  are  accustomed  to  glory  in  the  dig- 
nity of  man  :  I  willingly  allow  it  all.  The 
Divine  testimony  is  given,  that  he  was 
"  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  and 
was  crowned  with  glory  and  honor." 
Those  redeemed  by  grace  are  represented 
in  heaven  as  being  nearest  the  Lamb,  and 
as  giving  the  keynote  to  that  immortal 
song  ;  to  which  the  angels,  the  elder  sons 


SINS  OF  THE    FLESH.  \JJ 

of  God,  respond  as  they  swell  the  mighty 
chorus,  "Blessing  and  honor  and  glory 
and  power  be  unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  forever  and 
ever."  Of  the  two  parts  of  this  celestial 
choir,  who  sing  the  praises  of  the  Most 
High  God  in  strophe  and  anti-strophe,  the 
glorified  saints  alone  are  able  to  say,  "  for 
thou  wast  slain  and  hast  redeemed  us  by 
thy  blood."  It  is  a  glorious  distinction  to 
have  been  in  the  beginning  made  in  the 
likeness  and  after  the  image  of  the  Crea- 
tor ;  but  it  will  require  the  dialect  of  heaven 
to  set  forth  the  glory  of  redemption, 
and  the  honorable  destiny  of  those  who 
teach  the  angels  the  wonders  of  their  sal- 
vation. My  young  friends,  we  yield  to 
none  who  are  wont  to  sing  the  glory  of 
man,  in  the  rich  endowments  both  of  na- 
ture and  grace.  But  then  this  dignified 
being  owes  it  to  his  Creator  and  to  him- 
self to  protect  that  glory  with  which  he 
has  been  crowned.  He  owes  it  to  his  in- 
telligence, by  which  he  is  a  creature  of 
knowledge ;  he  owes  it  to  his  conscience, 
by  which  he  is  a  creature  of  law  ;  he  owes 
it  to  the  Divine  image,  in  which  he  is  a 
creature  of  worship  ;  he  owes  it  to  that 
destiny,  which  he  is  to  fulfil  beyond  the 
grave  ;  he  owes  it  to  the  majesty  of  God 


I78     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

and  to  his  own  sense  of  honor  ;  he  owes  it  to 
every  motive  by  which  a  rational  and  im- 
mortal being  can  be  controlled,  never  to 
allow  himself  to  be  entangled  in  those  vices 
by  which  he  can  only  be  disfigured  and 
destroyed.  If  any  one  dear  to  me  were 
ensnared  in  the  meshes  of  this  fearful  vice, 
I  would  implore  him  by  all  the  terrors  of 
the  final  judgment  and  by  all  the  attrac- 
tions of  heaven,  to  burst  the  fetters  of  this 
fatal  bondage  and  no  longer  remain  a  slave 
to  the  most  cruel  of  masters,  his  own  pas- 
sion and  lust. 

IV.  Intemperance  disables  from  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  life,  and  exposes  to  the 
commission  of  every  crime.  I  need 
not  repeat  what  has  been  the  burden  of 
the  preceding  Lectures,  that  life  is  filled 
with  sacred  trusts.  Every  relation-  we 
sustain  has  its  peculiar  responsibilities. 
Consult  now  the  records  of  our  courts, 
and  you  will  find  at  least  three-fourths  of 
all  the  crimes  committed  to  be  the  acts  of 
men  who,  for  the  time  being,  were  dives- 
ted of  their  reason  by  strong  drink  ;  and 
who,  in  their  moments  of  sobriety,  would 
have  recoiled  with  horror  from  them. 
Why  should  a  man  voluntarily  put  him- 
self in  a  condition  which  exposes  to  such 


SINS  OF  THE  FLESH.  I  79 

tremendous  hazards?  Is  he  without  guilt, 
who,  in  the  heat  of  passion  or  by  the 
force  of  evil  habit,  has  lost  the  control  of 
himself?  The  bare  suggestion  is  enough, 
and  need  not  be  further  pressed  :  the  con 
dition  is  simply  frightful  of  an  intelligent 
being  resigning  the  use  of  reason  and  the 
control  of  his  own  will,  and  becoming'  a 
wild  beast  such  as  a  leopard  or  a  tiger. 
It  is  the  argument  of  prudence  as  well 
as  of  conscience,  dissuading  from  in- 
dulgence of  appetites  which  thus  disable 
from  all  relative  and  social  duties,  and  ex- 
pose to  the  commission  of  the  most  fear- 
ful crimes  to  be  found  upon  the  calendar  of 
our  courts. 

V.  Finally,  I  urge  against  intemper- 
ance and  all  cognate  vices,  that  tJiey  inca- 
pacitate for  religion.  Beyond  dispute, 
the  duties  which  man  owes  to  God  are  su- 
preme. Can  we  worship  God,  when  de- 
prived of  reason  ?  Can  we  accept  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  a  Saviour  from  sin,  if  con- 
science is  paralyzed  within  us  ?  Is  it  pos- 
sible to  fulfil  any  of  the  duties  of  practi- 
cal religion,  without  the  full  posession  of 
all  the  faculties?  The  highest  obligation 
resting  upon  a  reasonable  being  is  to  love, 
obey  and  worship  Him  in  whose  image  he 


i80     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

was  fashioned,  and  at  whose  bar  of  judg- 
ment he  must  stand.  What  then  is  the 
verdict  to  be  pronounced  against  a  habit, 
which  ends  in  stripping  one  of  all  the  pow- 
ers which  constitute  him  a  moral  and  im- 
mortal being  ?  I  do  not  specify  other 
vices  ;  though  it  would  be  easy  to  show 
that  they  all  blunt  the  sensibilities,  and 
render  men  unsusceptible  of  spiritual  influ- 
ences and  unmindful  of  spiritual  obliga- 
tions. The  denunciation  of  one  is  the 
denunciation  of  all,  as  bearing  upon  them 
the  stamp  of  the  Divine  displeasure 

But  why  are  these  counsels  addressed 
with  such  emphasis  to  the  young?  It 
would  be  sufficient  to  reply  that  the  habits, 
this  evening  inveighed  against,  are  not 
confirmed  in  these,  as  they  are  in  the  old. 
It  is  easier  to  guard  against  the  invasion 
of  disease,  than  to  conquer  it  when  seated 
in  the  frame.  But  there  are  special  rea- 
sons for  urging  these  considerations  upon 
the  young.  The  first  is,  that  these  vices 
have  their  root  in  our  animal  nature, 
through  which  the  temptation  assails  us. 
No  man  is  safe  from  transgression,  as 
long  as  he  carries  about  this  body  of  flesh. 
But  the  period  of  greatest  peril  is  when 
the  physical  powers  are  approaching 
their    maturity ;    when    the   appetites    are 


SINS    OF    THE    FLESH  l8l 

freshest,  and  the  passions  are  the  most 
clamorous  for  indulgence.  At  this  period, 
too,  there  is  little  experience  of  life,  and 
consequently  little  apprehension  of  dan- 
ger ;  and  so  the  young  are  to  be  carefully 
warned  by  the  knowledge  of  others.  Again, 
a  young  man  is  under  fewer  restraints, 
which  afford  a  measure  of  protection  to 
the  old.  Those  in  mid-life  who  are  sur- 
rounded by  the  children  of  their  loins, 
have  given  pledges  to  society  for  their 
good  behavior.  The  husband  and  father 
is  often  held  in  check  by  domestic  ties, 
who  might  resist  the  appeals  to  his  reli- 
gious nature.  The  young  man  is  apt  to 
regard  himself  as  free  from  social  obliga- 
tions :  imagining  himself  the  irresponsible 
master  of  his  own  movements,  he  is  apt  to 
drift  into  habits  which  at  length  in/,  their 
swift  current  sweep  him  into  sudden  ruin. 
The  danger  to  the  young  is  immensely 
increased  by  the  fact  that  intemperance  is 
pre-eminently  a  social  vice  ;  and  the  temp- 
tations soliciting  to  the  indulgence  of  ap- 
petite are  on  every  side.  Observation 
shows  that  the  generous  and  the  warm- 
hearted are  the  most  apt  to  fall  under  the 
bondage  of  this  destructive  habit.  Intem- 
perance is  therefore  singularly  insidious  in 
its  approaches.      It  invites   to   cheer  and 


l82     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

good  company,  and  the  gay  saloon  throws 
open  its  hospitable  doors  for  unlimited  en- 
joyment :  meanwhile  the  meshes  of  invet- 
erate habit  are  being  woven  closer,  and 
the  web  is  drawn  tighter  around  the  un- 
happy victim  until  he  sinks  into  a  dishon- 
ored grave.  Oh,  the  temptations  which 
everywhere  are  thrown  upon  the  path  of 
the  young,  ensnaring  their  feet  and  luring 
them  on  to  certain  destruction  ! 

'*  Ha !   See  where  the  wild-blazing  grog-shop  appears, 
As  the  red  waves  of  wretchedness  swell, 
How  it  burns  on  the  edge  of  tempestuous  years, 
The  horrible  Light-house  of  Hell !  " 


<§©<§)? 


LECTURE  XI. 
THE  SIN  OF  GAMBLING. 


Proverbs  xvi.  33.  —  '*  Fhe  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap  ;  bu 
the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord.'1''     Also, 

2.  Thessalonians  iii.  10-12. — "Fur  even  when  we 
were  uoitk  yon,  this  we  commanded  yon,  if  any  would  not 
work,  neither  should  he  eat.  For  we  hear  that  there  are 
some  which  walk  among  you  disorderly,  working  not  at 
ail  but  are  busy-bodies.  Now  them  that  are  such  we 
command  and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  with 
quietness  they  work  and  eat  their  ozvn  bread." 

I  am  happy  in  being  relieved,  after  to- 
night, from  the  office  of  censure  :  although, 
as  you  perceive  from  the  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture just  recited,  I  shall  be  led  to  denounce 
now  the  sin  of  gambling.  These  verses 
have  been  chosen  as  the  foundation  of  my 
discourse,  because  they  present  this  vice 
under  two  distinct  aspects  :  the  one  show- 
ing its  profaneness  ;  the  other,  its  contra- 
vention of  the  law  of  labor.  The  guilt  of 
it  consists  of  both  conjoined. 

Gambling  has  been  briefly  denned  "  the 
staking  and  winning  property  upon  a  haz- 
ard." The  following  considerations  are 
urged  against  it  : 


I84  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

I.    It  is  a  profane  invasion    of  the  gov- 
ernment and  province  of  God.       The  vices 
of  men,  like   their  virtues,    grow   together 
in  clusters  as  grapes  which  hang  from  the 
same  stem  of  the  vine.       And  it  would  be 
a  curious  speculation  to  trace  the  connec- 
tion between  them  ;   to   decide   upon   the 
principles  which  associate  certain  vices  to- 
gether in  one    man,    or  certain  virtues  to- 
gether in  another.       Whether  our  philoso- 
phy can  explain  it  or  not,  a  kind  of  intermar- 
riage takes  place  in   both  cases,    by  which 
a  definite  relationship   is  established.       In 
regard  to  our  vices,  they  have  a   common 
origin  in  the  sinful  nature  we   inherit  from 
our  first  parent,  the  single  root  from  which 
springs  all  the  evil  to  be  found  in  our  char- 
acter and  conduct.      But  apart   from   this, 
some    secret    tie    seems    to     bind   certain 
sins  together  and  to  hold  them  in   a   unity 
of  their  own.      There    is,  for    example,    a 
strange    resemblance   between     gambling 
and     profane    swearing,    as    though     they 
were   twin   shoots   from  the   same    parent 
stem.     The  essence  of  profanity,  as  shown 
in  a  preceding   Lecture,    is  the  separation 
of  the  name  of  God   from   the   perfections 
which  it  symbolizes    and   commemorates. 
Frivolously  used  as  a  mere  expletive,  it  is 
finally    disassociated   from   all  thought   of 


SIN    OF    GAMBLING.  I  85 

God  and  His  worship.  In  like  manner, 
gambling  founds  on  the  notion  of  chance, 
and  makes  open  breach  with  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  In  both  alike  we  have  the 
same  profanation  of  the  attributes  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  Most  High;  and  the  two 
are  resolved  into  different  faces  of  the 
same  sin.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
chance  in  the  administration  of  a  wise  and 
beneficent  Ruler  ;  and  the  use  of  the  word 
is  altogether  without  meaning.  "The 
lot,"  says  Solomon,  "is  cast  into  the  lap, 
but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the 
Lord:  "  this  concludes  debate;  "the  very 
hairs  of  our  head  are  all  numbered."  Its 
only  significance  is  that  of  concealing  our 
ignorance  of  the  immediate  cause  by  which 
any  effect  is  produced  : 

"  Behind  the  dim  unknown, 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping 
Watch  above  His  own." 

Science  knows  nothing  of  chance  :  it  goes 
through  all  the  province  Nature,    pa- 

tiently seeking  the  cause  of  the  phenom- 
ena presented  to  the  eye  ;  and  always  as- 
suming that  they  are  effects  for  which  an 
adequate  explanation  may  be  found. 
When  these  two  are  brought  together, 
the  sufficient  cause  and  the  necessary  ef- 
fect, then  Science  feels  herself  justified  in 
the  conclusion  which  is  affirmed.  You 
will  observe  that  true  science   unites  with 


1 86     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

Divine  Revelation  in  denying  that  there 
can  be  any  such  thing  as  chance,  either  in 
the  natural  or  moral  government  of  the 
Most  High.  As  before  said,  the  word  is 
void  of  significance,  save  as  it  declares  a 
matter  lifted  from  human  jurisdiction  into 
the  Divine.  When  a  case  occurs  which 
cannot  be  decided  in  the  exercise  of  hu- 
man wisdom,  the  lot  is  employed  in  order 
to  remit  it  to  the  decision  of  Him  who 
rules  the  universe.  It  is  therefore  essen- 
tially a  prayer,  an  act  of  solemn  worship 
offered  to  the  Supreme  Being.  If  it  be  friv- 
olously used,  either  in  sport  or  for  gain, 
and  without  reverential  feelings,  it  becomes 
a  profane  act  ;  akin  in  its  nature  to  the 
reckless  oath,  which  separates  the  name 
of  God  from  the  attributes  of  His  charac- 
ter. As  the  latter  is  an  assault  upon  the 
personal  glory  of  Jehovah,  so  is  the  for- 
mer an  assault  upon  His  government  and 
providence.  In  both,  an  equal  contempt 
is  thrown  upon  the  being,  authority  and 
perfections  of  the  great  and  dreadful  Be- 
ing, of  whom  we  should  never  think  with- 
out reverence  and  awe. 

It  does  not  militate  against  this  argu- 
ment that  the  events  which  appear  to  be 
determined  by  the  lot  come  under  the 
operation  of  the  laws  of  nature  ;  for   God 


SIN  OF  GAMBLING.  1  87 

administers  His  whole  providence  by  and 
through  these  same  laws  which  He  has  or 
dained  for  this  purpose.  Undoubtedly 
we  can  trace  the  laws  by  which  the  dew  is 
formed  upon  the  grass  and  flowers — the 
laws  which  govern  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  sun — the  laws  by  which  the  vapor 
is  lifted  from  the  sea  and  returned  again 
to  refresh  the  parched  earth  :  in  short,  it 
is  easy  to  trace  most  of  the  ways  by  which 
the  secret  forces  of  nature  are  controlled 
by  the  Supreme  Creator  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind.  But  this  does  not  disallow  the 
privilege  of  prayer,  simply  because  these 
forces  are  under  His  control  and  can  be 
managed  for  our  good  in  answer  to  our  pe- 
tition. Thus,  while  it  may  be  true  that 
there  are  natural  laws  determining  the  face 
of  the  dice  as  it  is  turned  up,  still  they  are 
laws  unknown  to  us  and  beyond  human 
reach  ;  and  the  employment  of  the  lot  re- 
mands this  to  the  knowledge  and  power  of 
Him  by  whom  these  laws  were  ordained. 
It  is  therefore  like  the  prayer  which  the 
Christian  addresses  to  his  Heavenly  Fath- 
er, that  He  would  hold  the  wind  in  His 
fist  in  the  dreaded  cyclone,  or  hold  the 
waves  in  His  hand  on  the  tempestuous 
deep.  Here  then  is  a  religious  argument 
against    the    sin  of  gambling :   the  hazard 


1 88  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

which  it  employs  is  an  appeal  to  God  to 
interpose  in  a  given  case,  when  that  ap- 
peal is  not  intended  as  a  reverential  prayer 
and  devout  worship.  It  is  therefore  sim- 
ple profanity,  just  like  the  oath  of  the 
swearer.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that 
where  our  knowledge  is  most  perfect,  the 
movements  are  too  distant  for  our  inter- 
ference ;  whilst  the  objects  which  are  near 
us,  are  under  the  operation  of  laws  which 
we  imperfectly  comprehend.  Science 
can  tell  us,  for  example,  more  about 
the  stars  which  are  millions  of  miles 
away,  than  it  can  tell  about  the  pestilence 
and  the  earthquake  which  are  near  at 
hand.  .Thus  w;onderfully  does  God  pro- 
tect Himself  and  His  government  over  the 
creature,  by  making  us  dependent  upon 
Him  in  prayer  for  the  blessings  we  desire 
to  obtain  and  the  evils  we  desire  to  avert. 
All  events  are  under  the  control  of  law  ; 
and  yet  we  must  bow  at  the  feet  of  Him, 
to  whom  alone  these  laws  are  perfectly 
obedient.  Prayer  is  always  proper,  if  of- 
fered in  reverence  ;  but  never  in  mockery 
either  of  God's  being  or  providence. 

II.  Gambling  is  simple  robbery.  Only 
by  one  or  other  of  two  ways  can  we  come 
lawfully   into    the  possession  of  what   be- 


SIN  OF  GAMBLING.  I  89 

longs    to    another  ;  it  must  be  either    by 
gift,  or  by  purchase.        The  property  ac- 
quired by  any  man  is  his,    as  the  product 
of  his  industry  ;  and  may  be  disposed  of 
as   he  will.        He  may  enjoy  it  himself,  or 
he  may  generously  bestow  it  upon  anoth- 
er.     Now  gambling  is  not  a  gift  :   for  the 
stake,  whether  large  or  small,  is  not  trans- 
ferred   to  the  winner  at  the  desire  of  the 
loser,  or  with  his  good  will.       Nor,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  it  a  purchase:  for  no  equivalent 
has  passed  from  the  winner  to  the  loser. 
If  it  be  neither  gift  nor  purchase,    what  is 
it  ?     Upon  what  ground  is  such  property 
held  ?     Under  what  name  shall  we  regis- 
ter the  transaction  ?     Is  it  not,  in  the  last 
analysis,  an  act  of  robbery  pure  and  sim- 
ple ?  In  reply  to  the  dilemma  stated  above, 
it  has  been  argued  that  the  gain  and  loss 
in   gambling  are  the  result  of  a  compact 
between  the  parties,  in  which  both  consent 
to  the  risk.        This,    it  is  alleged,    renders 
the  transfer  of  the  stake  from  the  loser  to 
the  fortunate  winner  constructively  a  gift  ; 
at  least,  there  has  been   no  violent  wrest- 
ing of  property  from  the  hand  of  the  one  ; 
and  no  unlawful  placing  it  in  the  hand  of 
the  other.    Thus  it  is  speciously  concluded 
that  gambling  cannot  be  proven   either  a 
sin  against  God,  or  a  crime  against  men. 


I9O  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  a  clear  princi- 
ple in  ethics,  that  what  it  is  unlawful  for  a 
man  to  do,  it  is  unlawful  for  a  man  to  bar- 
gain to  do.  No  voluntary  agreements 
among  men  can  alter  the  essential  nature 
of  what  is  condemned  by  the  testimony  of 
conscience  and  by  the  law  of  God.  In 
fact,  this  antecedent  contract  between  two 
or  more  gamesters,  so  far  from  mitigating 
the  offence,  duplicates  the  guilt.  It  ren- 
ders the  offence  more  deliberate,  and  in 
the  co-operation  of  two  wills  doubles  the 
crime.  There  is  not  only  the  guilt  of 
doing  a  wrong  thing,  but  the  guilt  of  con- 
spiring to  do  it.  With  forethought  and 
predetermination  two  or  more  men  bar- 
gain with  each  other  to  set  aside  the  judg- 
ment of  God,  and  to  construe  as  right 
what  He  has  declared  to  be  wrong. 

Property,  whether  it  come  by  inheri- 
tance or  through  one's  own  industry,  is  a 
trust ;  and  he  who  holds  it  is,  in  God's 
sight,  only  a  steward.  The  proprietary 
right  is  with  the  "Father  of  lights,  from 
whom  cometh  down  every  good  and  per- 
fect gift  :  "  the  usufruct  of  which  is  with 
him  upon  whom  the  gift  is  bestowed.  As 
there  is  no  power  of  alienation,  the  prop- 
erty is  to  be  held  for  the  uses  designed  by 
the  giver,  and  for  which  a  strict  account  is 


SIN  OF  GAMBLING.  I9I 

finally  to  be  rendered.  What  right  has  the 
gamester  to  stake  this  property,  of  which 
he  has  only  the  enjoyment,  and  pass  it 
over  to  another  on  a  game  of  hazard  ?  If 
it  be  a  trust,  and  a  trust  to  be  accounted 
for  on  some  day  of  reckoning,  is  it  not 
sheer  profligacy  to  throw  it  away,  without 
good  to  himself  or  those  for  whom  he 
ought  to  care  ?  Then  reversing  the  state- 
ment, what  right  has  any  man  to  take  that 
which  is  another's  without  rendering  an 
equivalent  ?  For  the  doctrine  that  proper- 
ty is  a  trust  from  God  makes  us  responsi- 
ble for  the  way  in  which  it  is  acquired,  as 
well  as  the  way  in  which  it  is  alienated. 
In  the  gamblers'  contract  therefore  a  dou- 
ble crime  is  committed  ;  in  that  both  agree 
to  stake  what  neither  has  the  right  to 
throw  away,  and  to  seize  what  neither  has 
the  right  to  appropriate. 

The  matter  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
case  of  the  duelist.  By  the  laws  of  God 
and  man,  no  one  has  the  right  to  take  the 
life  of  another  :  but  two  men  agree  to  go 
on  the  "field  of  honor,"  as  it  is  sarcasti- 
cally called,  each  striving  to  do  that  very 
thing.  Does  the  agreement  between  these 
two  make  that  right,  which,  without  the 
agreement,  would  be  an  atrocious  crime  ? 
Has  either   the   right   to   throw  away   the 


I92     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

life  which  God  gave  .;  and  has  either  the 
right  to  take  the  life  which  he  cannot  re- 
store ?  The  parallel  is  a  just  one.  As  the 
duelist  cannot  escape  the  charge  of  mur- 
der in  taking  the  life  on  which  he  has  no 
right  to  lay  his  hand  ;  as  he  is  guilty  "  in 
esse  "  of  a  twofold  murder,  in  risking  his 
own  as  well  as  in  the  intention  to  take  the 
life  of  his  antagonist ;  as  the  crime  is  the 
deeper,  as  done  with  deliberative  purpose  ; 
so  is  the  gamester  convicted  of  a  crime  in 
risking  the  loss  of  his  own  property,  and  in 
the  intention  of  taking  that  which  is  an- 
other's :  and  the  solemn  agreement  to 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  crimi- 
nal acts,  stamps  them  both  with  a  deep- 
er guilt. 

III.  Gambling  is  an  offence  against  the 
lazv  of  labor.  The  Apostle  declares  as 
the  penalty  of  transgressing  this  law,  "if 
a  man  work  not,  neither  shall  he  eat."  No 
state  in  which  man  is  found  on  earth,  ex- 
empts him  from  the  operation  of  this  uni- 
versal law.  Even  in  his  primitive  holiness, 
man  was  appointed  to  "  dress  and  keep  " 
the  garden  in  which  he  was  placed.  It 
may  have  been  a  light  labor  assigned  him, 
but  it  was  the  recognition  of  his  depend- 
ence on  the  Creator.       After  the  fall,   the 


SIN    OF    GAMBLING.  1 93 

curse  was  pronounced  against  the  ground 
for  man's  sin,  "thorns  and  thistles  shall  it 
bring  forth  to  thee — in  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  shalt  thou  eat  bread."  From  that 
sad  day  to  this,  man  has  lived  under  the 
necessity  of  labor.  Let  it  be  noted  here 
that  no  exception  is  to  be  found  anywhere 
to  the  enforcement  of  this  law.  The  plow- 
man in  the  field  is  the  son  of  toil,  so  is  the 
blacksmith  as  his  ponderous  blows  ring 
out  the  music  from  the  anvil  which  he 
strikes.;  so  is  the  seaman,  as  he  reefs  the 
sails  of  his  ship  in  the  exposure  of  the 
storm.  This  law  of  labor  obtains  in 
the  domain  of  mind,  no  less  than  of 
matter.  The  lawyer  pleading  at  the  bar  ; 
the  judge  decreeing  justice  from  the 
bench  ;  the  physician  in  his  daily  round 
ministering  to  the  sickness  of  men  ;  the 
merchant  in  his  retired  room  touching  the 
wires  which  send  the  currents  of  com- 
merce over  the  globe  :  all  these  are  men 
of  toil — the  work  of  mind,  often  more  ex- 
hausting than  of  the  body,  because  it 
wastes  the  energies  of  both.  Even  the 
millionaire,  supposed  to  be  free  from  toil 
because  of  his  excessive  wealth,  finds  full 
employment  in  keeping  from  waste  and 
productively  investing  what  he  owns  ;  and 
often  confesses   this  to   be  attended   with 


194     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

more   anxious  care,    than  the  original  ac- 
quisition itself. 

This  curse  of  labor  Divine  grace  has 
converted  into  a  blessing.  In  the  exer- 
cise of  all  our  faculties,  both  mind  and 
body  are  invigorated  ;  and  the  employ- 
ments in  which  we  engage  open  to  us  con- 
stant sources  of  happiness.  There  is  a 
principle  covered  here,  which  I  must  dis- 
close. Labor  becomes  a  blessing,  when- 
ever it  blends  with  the  purpose  of  God  in 
securing  what  He  desires  to  bestow.  The 
two  factors  unite  in  producing  a  joint  re- 
sult. The  Divine  Being  bestows,  and 
through  labor  we  receive.  Even  in  reli- 
gion where  eternal  life  is  so  entirely  the 
gift  of  God,  there  is  not  a  solitary  point  in 
the  scheme  where  human  agency  is  not 
called  into  play  as  co-ordinate  with  the  Di- 
vine. If  we  are  to  be  saved  through  the 
righteousness  of  a  Redeemer,  there  must 
be  on  our  part  the  acceptance  of  it  through 
faith.  If  God  graciously  pardons  our  sins, 
there  must  be  the  repentance  with  which 
these  sins  are  confessed  and  bewailed.  If 
God  pledges  His  grace  to  keep  the  believ- 
er safe  and  land  him  at  length  in  the  eter- 
nal home,  it  is  necessary  that  the  Chris- 
tian keep  the  commandments  and  preserve 
his  garments  unspotted  in  the  world.      Di- 


SIN  OF  GAMBLING.  I  95 

vine  sovereignty  and  human  responsibility 
meet  at  every  stage  of  the  believer's  pro- 
gress through  life.  Equally  so  is  it  in  re- 
gard to  the  temporal  blessings  bestowed 
in  the  administration  of  providence.  God 
gives  the  sun,  the  rain,  the  dew  ;  and  we 
mingle  with  these  the  industry  which  pro- 
cures for  us  the  abundant  harvest.  The 
labor  becomes  a  blessing,  because  in  it  we 
unite  with  our  Heavenly  Father  in  secur- 
ing the  gifts  which  His  munificent  hand 
bestows.  It  is  true  work,  since  through 
God's  concurrence  it  is  productive.  Noth- 
ing deserves  to  be  called  work,  which  is 
not  productive  of  some  benefit.  Beating 
the  air  with  my  hand  is  not  work,  although 
it  may  exhaust  the  physical  energies,  be- 
cause it  results  in  no  good  to  any  one  :  but 
if  I  drive  the  plow  in  the  soil,  or  reap  the 
harvest  which  is  ripe,  I  am  blending  my 
agency  with  the  appointment  of  God  in 
producing  that  which  He  ordains  for  my 
sustenance.  But  what  work,  in  this  Di- 
vine and  true  sense,  is  there  in  gambling-  ? 
What  is  done  beyond  the  exchange  from 
one  hand  to  another  hand,  without  the  pro- 
duction of  anything  or  the  adding  addi- 
tional value  to  what  has  already  been  ac- 
quired ?  Clearly,  then,  gambling  is  to  be 
condemned    as    contravening    one    of  the 


I96  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

most  important  of  nature's  laws,  the  law  of 
labor.  It  is  an  attempt  to  lift  one's-self 
above  the  uniform  condition  of  creaturely 
existence,  and  is  thus  in  another  form  an 
assault  upon  the  providential  arrangements 
of  the  Most  High. 

IV.  Gambling  feeds  the  natural  covetu- 
ousness  of  men,  which  the  Apostle  denoun- 
ces as  idolatry.  If  I  should  cite  the  por- 
tions of  Holy  Writ  which  condemn  undue 
love  of  the  world,  I  must  repeat  much 
that  is  contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments. The  uniform  testimony  of  both 
is  in  words  like  these  :  ' '  labor  not  for  the 
meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat 
which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life  :  "  and 
again,  "lay  not  up  for  yourselves  trea- 
sures upon  earth ;  but  lay  up  for  your- 
selves treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither 
moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal." 
Worldly  goods  are  bestowed  as  a  trust,  to 
be  used  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  ben- 
efit of  man — with  a  liberal  percentage  al- 
lowed for  our  own  use  and  enjoyment. 
When  thus  employed  in  accordance  with 
the  Divine  grant,  the  earthly  treasures  are 
changed  into  the  heavenly  treasures  which 
abide  forever.        Undoubtedly  wealth  is  a 


SIN     OF    GAMBLING.  igj 

great  temptation  which  few  are  able  to  re 
sist  ;  for  it  is  the  source  of  power  to  those 
who  possess  it.  And  whenever  our  at- 
tachment to  it  is  supreme,  so  that  it  dis 
places  God  in  our  esteem,  it  becomes  idol 
atrous.  But  in  what  individual  of  the  race 
does  covetousness  become  the  ruling  pas- 
sion, as  in  the  gambler?  The  love  of  gain 
swallows  up  every  affection  and  controls 
every  thought  Hence  the  antagonism  be- 
tween this  vice  and  true  religion  :  so  that 
if  the  grace  of  God  should  overtake  the 
gambler,  he  is  constrained  to  abandon  his 
calling.  It  is  not  possible  that  he  shall 
continue  it  and  still  be  a  child  of  God.  Be- 
cause the  grace  by  which  he  has  been  sub- 
dued strikes  at  the  root  of  that  covetuous- 
ness,  which  in  him  had  become  the  rank 
est  idolatry.  Its  opposition  therefore  to 
the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  Gospel  stamps 
it  as  fearful  sin  against  the  Redeemer  of 
men. 

.  V.  Gambling  is  seen  to  be  a  vice  from 
its  disastrous  consequences.  It  has  a  two- 
fold root  :  first  in  the  covetous  desire  to 
accumulate  wealth  rapidly  .and  largely ; 
and  then  in  the  love  of  excitement  which 
belongs  to  our  nature.  The  passion  for 
gambling  grows  into  a  frenzy  :   the  excite- 


I98     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

ment  blazes  into  a  consuming  flame  which 
burns  up  the  man.  His  moral  convictions 
and  sweetest  social  affections  shrivel  in  this 
consuming  heat,  until  they  are  blown  at 
length  into  the  air  as  powder  and  dust.  On 
this  account,  and  because  of  its  opposition 
to  that  labor  upon  which  worldly  progress 
depends,  it  unhinges  society,  by  which  it 
is  universally  execrated.  There  is  not  a 
civilized  community  which  does  not  put 
the  brand  of  infamy  upon  it.  Our  law- 
books are  full  of  statutes  against  it  as  an 
evil  which  strikes  at  the  very  existence  of 
society,  rendering  it  impossible  that  the 
body  corporate  can  be  held  together.  Not 
only  so,  but  the  indignant  voice  of  public 
sentiment  drives  it,  under  the  pressure  of 
its  reproach,  to  practise  its  dark  deeds  in 
secrecy  and  under  the  cover  of  night. 
Let  all  men  become  gamblers,  abandoning 
themselves  to  the  intense  greed  which  cuts 
them  off  from  their  kind,  and  what  is  the 
fate  of  society  ?  Hence  the  brand  of  rep- 
robation everywhere  put  upon  this  vice. 
I  recall,  as  I  speak,  the  startling  testi- 
mony of  a  noted  gambler  whom  I  person- 
ally knew,  and  who  was  an  unusually  re- 
spectable man  of  his  class  :  speaking  of  his 
only  child  and  son,  he  openly  declared  : 
"  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  see  him 


SIN  OF  GAMBLING.  I99 

in  his  coffin  and  follow  him  to  his  grave, 
than  see  him  live  the  life  that  I  daily  live 
before  him."  Is  it  strange,  then,  that  the 
practice  should  be  condemned  by  the  uni- 
versal conscience  of  men  and  restrained  by 
the  enactments  of  human  law,  seeing  it  is 
thus  denounced  in  the  testimony  of  the 
gamester  himself?  If  we  shall  take  the 
trouble  to  follow  this  vice  to  the  end  of 
the  gamester's  career,  we  shall  find  it  over- 
taken by  the  just  judgments  of  heaven. 
Ill-gotten  gains  are  ever  breaking  out  in 
curses,  like  the  leprosy  in  the  blood. 
Count  up  the  raving  mad-men  it  shuts  up 
in  our  asylums  ;  and  the  wretched  suicides 
every  year  terminating  a  life  of  unnatural 
warfare  against  the  human  race  by  the  last 
atonement  they  can  make  in  self-destruc- 
tion. Put  these  things  into  the  estimate 
you  form  of  this  frightful  vice,  and  you 
will  approximate  the  estimate  of  God  Him- 
self. 

The  cautions  of  this  Lecture  are  ad- 
dressed to  the  young  men  of  this  audience, 
for  two  reasons  :  first,  because  the  young 
crave  excitement ;  which  makes  the  pas- 
sion of  gaming  peculiarly  dangerous  to 
them.  Secondly,  because  this  vice  con- 
flicts with  all  proper  business  habits,  upon 
which  your  future    prosperity  and   happi- 


200     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

ness  depend.  There  is  the  greater  need 
for  pressing  this  advice,  as  the  spirit  of 
gaming  appears  to  be  invading  the  very 
forms  of  business  itself.  It  may  be  diffi- 
cult to  draw  the  line  of  separation  accur- 
ately between  the  hazards  which  attend 
all  commercial  enterprises,  and  that  hazard 
which  constitutes  the  definition  of  gamb- 
ling. This,  however,  may  be  safely  af- 
firmed ;  that  when  in  any  transaction  every 
thing  is  staked  upon  simple  chance,  with- 
out commercial  calculations  of  any  sort, 
this  is  gambling.  To  what  extent  these 
hazards  are  run  in  the  business  transac- 
tions of  the  day,  I  certainly  would  not  un- 
dertake to  decide.  But  the  difficulty  in- 
creasingly experienced  of  entering  upon 
business  without  large  capital,  as  against 
the  heavy  combinations  formed  to  force 
commerce  in  particular  channels,  is  driv- 
ing men  into  these  extravagances  which 
border  upon  the  practice  of  the  gamester. 
I  trust  there  is  virtue  enough  left  in  the 
land  to  hold  these  evils  in  check  ;  or  that 
in  the  providence  of  Almighty  God  the 
evils  may  work  out  their  attendant  cure. 
But  if  all  business  is  to  be  swept  into  the 
vortex  of  this  enormous  vice,  one  shud- 
ders at  the  universal  wreck  of  society  which 
is  near  at  hand.    Because  of  the  imminency 


SIN    OF    GAMBLING.  201 

of  this  appalling  danger,  I  am  disposed 
to  plead  with  the  young  men  now  listen- 
ing to  my  voice  to  cultivate  the  virtues  of 
their  forefathers  ;  to  learn  how  to  be  rich 
byb  being  content  ;  to  be  satisfied  with 
small  gains,  building  up  a  fortune  at  the 
close  of  life  rather  than  at  its  beginning. 
If  they  do  not  pile  up  enormous  wealth, 
they  will  at  least  pass  into  the  eternal 
world  without  the  regret  of  having  violated 
the  obligations  due  to  society  and  to  God. 


LECTURE  XII. 
THE  SCRIPTURES,    OUR   RULE. 


2  Peter  i.  19. — «'  We  have  also  a,  more  sure  word 
of  prophecy  ;  whereunto  ye  do  well  to  take  heed,  as  unto 
a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day-dawn 
and  the  day-star  arise  in  your  hearts." 

The  Apostle  Peter  opens  this"  second 
Epistle  with  earnest  exhortations  to  Chris- 
tians to  cultivate  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
so  that  in  their  abounding  fruitfulness  they 
may  stand  approved  in  the  sight  of  God. 
He  declares  his  purpose  to  keep  them  con- 
stantly reminded  of  these  duties,  taking 
pains  to  have  them  brought  to  remem- 
brance even  after  his  decease.  He  is  the 
more  earnest  in  delivering  this  testimony, 
having  been  eye-witness  of  the  glory  of 
Christ  when  He  was  transfigured  upon  the 
Mount.  The  language  of  the  text  is  then 
uttered,  showing  how  ancient  predictions 
of  the  Redeemer's  glory  had  been  con- 
firmed in  this  fulfilment ;  involving  this 
fundamental  principle,  that  every  state- 
ment concerning  the  Saviour  and  the  sal- 


204     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

vation  of  the  soul,  must  be  tested  by  an 
appeal  to  the  sacred  Scriptures  :  "  to  the 
law  and  to  the  testimony — if  they  speak 
not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because 
there  is  no  light  in  them."  The  supreme 
authority  of  this  Holy  Book  is  presented 
with  decisive  force — that  "no  prophecy 
of  the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpre- 
tation :  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
I  am  thus  brought  up  to  the  subject  of  the 
present    Lecture,    the   word  of  god  the 

INFALLIBLE    RULE    OF    LIFE    TO    MAN. 

It  is  the  topic  above  all  others  riveting 
with  final  authority  the  counsels  which  have 
been  addressed  to  you  on  successive  Sab- 
bath evenings.  They  have  not  been  with- 
out a  connection  of  their  own,  as  may  be 
seen  by  bringing  their  titles  together  :  ' '  the 
importance  of  youth  as  the  formative  pe- 
riod ;"  "the  elements  which  enter  into  what 
we  term  character  ;  "  "the  influence  of  prac- 
tical religion  in  moulding  the  same  ;  "  "the 
obstacles  to  piety  in  the  young  ;  "  "the  ob- 
ligations resting  on  those  born  of  a  godly 
ancestry;"  "the  obligations  arising  from 
the  trusts  of  life  ;  "  "the  principles  which 
should  guide  the  young  in  their  choice  of 
amusements  ;  "  "the four  special  vices  by 
which     youth     is    assailed,    Profaneness, 


THE   SCRIPTURES,    OUR    RULE.  2C>5 

Sabbath-breaking,  Intemperance  with 
other  lusts  of  the  flesh,  and  Gambling.  ' 
I  cannot  now  do  better  than  to  bind  these 
advices  together  with  the  authority  of 
God's  word  ;  and  to  show  how  it  "shines 
as  a  light  in  a  dark  place,"  guiding  you 
through  all  the  intricacies  of  life,  proving 
itself  a  "lamp  unto  your  feet  and  a  light 
unto  your  path." 

I.    Consider  then  the  majesty  of  the  truths 
therein  delivered  to  us.       There  is  the  truth 
concerning  God  Himself:   in  the   first  line 
of  Revelation  we  read,    "  in  the  beginning 
God  "_-a      Being     uncaused,    underived, 
having    the    ground    of   existence   within 
Himself.      With  what   majesty  is   the   an- 
nouncement  made?     Without  a  word  of 
comment   or    explanation,    the  incompre- 
hensible mystery  is  to  be  received  through 
the  responsive  echo  of  the   mind   to  the 
naked  utterance.      Man  made  in  the  image 
of  his  Creator,    is  expected   to   recognize 
Him  as  soon  as  presented   to  his  thought. 
And  how  august  the  revelation,  when  this 
awful  Being  instantly  calls  all  things  out  of 
nothing,     simply    by    the    word    of   His 
power:     "in   the  beginning  God   created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth. ' '     Without  pre- 
face   of  any    sort,     two  of  the    sublimest 


206  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

mysteries  are  disclosed,  the  necessary  self- 
existence  of  Jehovah  and  the  absolute  cre- 
ation of  all  things  else  that  appear.  Over- 
whelming as  both  the  propositions  are, 
the  mind  of  the  creature  receives  them  by 
an  instinct  of  its  own  as  matters  of  fact ; 
and  it  is  only  when  it  attempts  with  its 
finite  line  to  measure  the  magnitude  of 
either,  that  it  reels  and  staggers  beneath 
the  infinite  task. 

Then  we  have  the  correlative  truth  con- 
cerning the  soul  in  man,  the  spiritual  ele- 
ment by  which  he  is  distinguished  from 
the  brutes  below  him.  As  though  a  spark 
from  the  Divine  life  animated  the  body 
which  had  been  fashioned  from  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  the  seal  of  immortality  is 
stamped  upon  him  in  the  possession  of  a 
nature  henceforth  indestructible   forever. 

And  what  shall  be  said  of  that  eternity 
which  these  Scriptures  reveal ;  through 
whose  vistas  the  imagination  peers  with 
quickened  vision,  until  it  is  lost  in  the 
boundless  duration  beyond  ?  What  a  life 
prolonged  is  here  offered  to  the  creature  ; 
a  life  continuing  even  through  the  mys- 
tery of  death  and  running  through  the 
stretches  of  unmeasured  eternity,  by  the 
power  of  "  Him  that  was  and  is  to 
come  ?  "     How  perfect  the  truth  concern- 


THE    SCRIPTURES,     OUR    RULE.  207 

ing  these  high  mysteries  ?  Truth,  not  such 
as  we  gain  by  partial  glimpses,  gathered 
piecemeal  here  and  there,  and  woven  into 
proud  philosophies  as  the  workmanship  of 
our  own  thought :  but  truth  in  its  complete 
roundness — truth  in  its  two  hemispheres  of 
revelation  concerning  God  and  man,  set- 
tling down  upon  each  other  and  making 
the  perfect  globe — truth  which  the  ex- 
panding intellect  shall  employ  its  eternal 
life  in  comprehending  and  enjoying.  Ah, 
let  those  testify  how  sweet  a  thing  truth  is, 
who  spend  their  earthly  life  in  acquiring 
it.  The  wealth  of  all  the  mines  cannot 
so  enrich  the  possessor  as  that  substantial 
knowledge  coming  to  us  in  the  search  for 
truth,  which  is  forever  incorporate  with 
the  mind  itself.  But  the  truth  drawn 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  truth  pure 
and  unalloyed — truth  free  from  misgiving 
and  doubt — truth  received  through  a  Di- 
vine faith,  of  which  the  knowledge  is  with- 
out suspicion,  the  eternal  food  and  re- 
freshment of  the  soul. 

If  the  word  of  God  is  so  precious  in  its 
disclosures  of  God  and  the  human  soul, 
consider  what  it  has  to  reveal  concerning 
the  holiness  and  love  which  shall  form  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  heaven.  It  is 
a  holiness  without  the  soil  of  sin  ;  holiness 


208  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

of  thought,  holiness  of  affections,  holiness 
of  desire,  holiness  of  will,  holiness  of  ac- 
tion, the  complete  holiness  of  the  com- 
plete nature.  With  what  aspirations  are 
we  filled  in  the  bare  contemplation  of  this  ! 
The  possibility  of  rising  out  of  our  infirmi- 
ties and  bewailings  here  into  the  perfec- 
tion of  our  sanctified  nature  there,  bewil- 
ders us.  Yet  it  is  as  certain,  as  that  we 
live  and  are  redeemed  by  grace  of  God. 
But  this  holiness  draws  after  it  an  equal 
perfection  in  love  ;  love  that  knows  noth- 
ing of  jealousy,  never  wilting  under  a  sus- 
picion of  unfaithfulness,  love  filling  the 
whole  heart,  and  flowing  out  in  ascriptions 
of  praise  and  adoration  to  Him  who  has 
shed  this  glory  upon  the  creature. 

I  have  sketched  only  an  outline  of  the 
truths  which  are  discovered  in  the  Scrip- 
tures :  but  they  are  so  sublime  as  to  fill 
the  soul  with  a  sense  of  their  importance 
and  worth.  In  the  entire  range  of  human 
speculation  there  is  nothing  to  compare 
with  these  majestic  disclosures  :  and  if  the 
Bible  only  came  to  man  as  the  climax  of 
human  philosophy  and  science,  as  eman- 
ating from  the  genius  of  a  Confucius,  a 
Plato  or  an  Aristotle,  it  would  be  received 
with  the  homage  of  universal  acceptance. 
With  how  much  deeper  reverence  should 


THE  SCRIPTURES,    OUR  RULE.  200, 

it  be  acknowledged,  when  stamped  with 
the  authority  and  authorship  of  the  Divine 
Being  Himself? 

II.  The  Scriptures  are  the  more  valuable 
as  a  guide \  in  that  the  truth  is  delivered  in  the 
form  of  testimony.  It  is  not  truth  reasoned 
out  from  premises  to  conclusion,  subject  to 
all  the  errors  of  doubtful  inference  ;  it  is 
truth  revealed  and  therefore  clothed  with 
dogmatic  authority,  as  being  unfolded 
through  a  witness  competent  to  deliver 
the  testimony.  Look  at  the  chances  of 
mistake  in  any  process  of  deductive  rea- 
soning. Take  the  calculations  of  the 
mathematician,  as  they  are  thrown  upon 
the  blackboard  ;  how  intricate  they  are  ; 
and  then  the  almost  despairing  confession 
that  the  slightest  error  in  the  body  of  those 
figures  will  vitiate  the  result,  reveals  the 
uncertainty  of  knowledge  in  the  most  exact 
of  all  the  sciences.  In  the  Bible,  we  have 
the  immense  advantage,  that  every  truth 
comes  in  the  form  of  testimony ;  and  the 
only  question  which  can  arise  respects 
simply  the  credibility  of  the  witness.  The 
sacred  Book  stands  before  us  like  the  earth 
itself,  the  work  of  the  Creator's  hand  ; 
profound  mysteries  lie  hid  in  both  not 
open  to  human  criticism,  and  before  which 


2IO     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

man's  intelligence  bows  with  reverence  at 
the  manifestation  of  the  Divine  glory. 

If  we  ask  who  is  the  revealer,  whose 
supreme  authority  overbears  the  critical 
judgment,  and  makes  it  the  passive  re- 
cipient of  his  testimony,  the  answer  is  not 
only  ready,  but  absolutely  convincing: 
He  is  the  Second  Person  in  the  adorable 
Godhead,  "the  Word  that  was  with  God 
and  was  God  ;  "  whose  official  distinction 
it  is  to  be  the  Revealer  of  the  Godhead  to 
man.  "All  things  were  delivered  to  me 
of  my  Father  ;  and  no  man  knoweth  the 
Son,  but  the  Father  ;  neither  knoweth  any 
man  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Son  shall  reveal  Him" 
(Matt.  xi.  37).  Again  it  is  declared,  "no 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  ;  the  only 
begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him  "  (John 
i.  18).  Coming  from  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  He  proclaims  Himself  the  "Light 
of  the  world,"  lifting  out  of  the  depths  of 
the  Divine  nature  the  transcendent  mys- 
teries of  the  being  and  perfections  of  Jeho- 
vah, and  disclosing  all  that  the  creature 
needs  to  know  of  His  counsels  and  designs. 
This  supernatural  revelation  is  made  in  hu- 
man language,  and  is  instinct  with  all  the 
sympathies  of  the  human  heart ;  so  that  it 


THE    SCRIPTURES,    OUR    RULE.  211 

can  be  understood  as  a  statement  of  actual 
facts,  however  incommensurable  to  human 
reason.  The  competency  of  the  witness 
cannot  be  questioned  ;  and  the  language  in 
which  His  testimony  is  conveyed,  bears 
the  stamp  of  infallibility  through  the  in- 
spiration of  the  record  in  which  it  is  trans- 
mitted. 

The  notable  advantage  here  is  that  the 
comprehensible  and  the  incomprehensible, 
the  plain  and  the  mysterious,  are  placed  on 
the  same  level  as  inspired  truth.  This 
sweeps  away  the  cavil  against  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  they  are  so  full  of  incompre- 
hensible mysteries.  Never  was  objection 
more  futile  than  this.  Why,  even  in  the 
sphere  of  Nature  mystery  prevails  ;  it  is 
the  sad  condition  of  all  human  knowledge 
that  it  retreats  into  the  unknown.  There 
is  not  a  path  of  science  which,  trodden 
backward,  does  not  bring  one  to  a  blank 
wall  which  arrests  his  progress.  If  this  be 
so  when  dealing  with  the  created  and  the 
finite,  how  much  more  may  mystery  be  ex- 
pected in  a  Revelation  which  speaks  of  the 
Infinite  Jehovah  in  His  relations  to  man? 
Indeed,  it  would  be  the  absence  of  mys- 
tery which  would  be  conclusive  against  a 
Revelation  claiming  to  be  from  heaven,  of 
which    the    presence    of   mystery   is    the 


212     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

strongest  presumptive  proof.  The  plain 
propositions  of  the  Bible  rest  upon  the 
same  footing  with  the  most  inexplicable  ; 
they  are  both  received  upon  the  veracity 
of  the  witness  who  testifies;  and  neither 
becomes  a  Divine  truth  to  us,  until  so  ac- 
cepted in  faith.  It  is  not  a  question 
whether  we  fully  compass  what  is  revealed, 
but  whether  we  accept  it  as  a  matter  of 
fact ;  it  is  not  a  question  of  understanding, 
but  of  responding.  We  believe  what  is 
found  in  the  Bible,  not  because  we  com- 
prehend it,  but  because  it  is  declared  to 
us  upon  the  veracity  of  Him  who  cannot 
lie.  We  may  understand  it,  or  we  may 
not  ;  but  the  authority  upon  which  it  is 
received,  is  the  infallible  testimony  of  the 
Revealer.  It  is  needless  to  argue  the 
value  to  short-sighted,  erring  man,  of  an 
inspired  and  infallible  guide. 

III.  The  value  of  the  Scriptures  is  fur- 
ther seen  in  that  it  addresses  itself  to  all  the 
faculties  of  the  human  soul.  It  speaks,  of 
course,  directly  to  the  understanding  as 
the  organ  of  knowledge  ;  for  there  could 
be  no  revelation  without  intelligence  to  re- 
ceive it.  At  every  step,  the  mind  finds  its 
exercise  in  taking  up  and  interpreting  the 
terms  in  which  the    truths  of  the   Gospel 


THE  SCRIPTURES,   OUR  RULE.  213 

are  made  known.  But  the  conscience  is 
equally  addressed  with  the  intellect.  The 
truths  which  man  is  to  believe,  are  truths 
which  he  is  also  to  practise.  Hence  that 
pregnant  phrase  employed  by  our  Lord, 
"  doing  the  truth."  The  Bible  covers  the 
whole  field  of  human  duty,  evermore  ap- 
pealing to  the  conscience  to  distinguish 
between  the  right  and  the  wrong.  It  seeks 
equally  to  enlist  the  affections  ;  holding  up 
before  us  a  Being  of  infinite  love,  to  whom 
the  heart  of  the  creature  should  flow  out 
with  unceasing  delight.  It  no  less  recog- 
nizes man  in  the  sphere  of  his  activity  ; 
and  calls  upon  him,  in  the  free  choice  of 
the  will,  to  assume  and  discharge  all  the 
responsibilities  of  life.  Without  expand- 
ing further  what  is  so  plain,  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  no  system  of  truth  goes  so  entirely 
around  the  circle  of  the  human  faculties, 
as  that  which  is  taught  in  the  Word  of  God. 
You  cannot  fail  to  perceive  that  the  con- 
current impression  made  upon  these  differ- 
ent faculties  strengthens  the  conviction 
which  is  thereby  produced.  The  truth 
thus  takes  hold  upon  the  entire  nature  of 
man ;  and  the  interaction  between  his  dif- 
ferent powers  largely  protects  against  the 
misinterpretation  of  the  record,  to  which 
he     is    constantly    exposed.        The    error 


214     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

which  might  occur  in  the  understanding, 
will  be  corrected  by  the  impression  upon 
the  heart  ;  and  that  which  might  be  made 
through  the  affections,  will  be  overruled 
by  the  decisions  of  the  conscience.  The 
truth  is  seen  in  its  symmetry  at  the  inter- 
section of  these  lines,  towards  which  the 
different  rays  of  light  converge  as  their 
common  focus.  The  aberations  to  which 
we  are  prone,  are  thus  corrected  in  the 
reflex  light  shed  upon  them  from  these  va- 
rious directions  ;  and  the  truth  is  ascer- 
tained for  us,  as  by  a  jury  of  inquest. 
Because  of  the  distinct  impression  made 
upon  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  the  Bible 
is  of  especial  value  as  the  rule  of  conduct. 

IV.  The  fundamental  truths  of  the  Bible 
receive  an  immediate  response  from  the  re- 
ligious instincts  of  our  nature.  This  will  be 
best  understood  by  giving  instances  of 
what  perhaps  I  have  obscurely  expressed. 
Take,  for  example,  the  being  of  God.  It 
is  a  little  remarkable  that  the  Scriptures 
everywhere  assume  the  Divine  existence 
as  an  unquestioned  fact,  without  any  at- 
tempt to  prove  it.  It  is  a  truth  independ- 
ent of  argument,  and  does  not  need  to  be 
proved.  It  is  as  nearly  allied  to  what  we 
term    "a   first  truth"  as  can  be,  without 


THE  SCRIPTURES,    OUR   RULE.  21  5 

being  itself  an  intuition.  The  inference  by 
which  it  is  received  is  so  immediate,  that 
the  mind  accepts  it  upon  the  first  presenta- 
tion. There  is  no  need  of  argument,  ex- 
cept to  verify  to  one's  reason  that  which 
has  already  been  received  in  faith  ;  or  else 
to  paralyze  some  objection  which  an  obsti- 
nate scepticism  may  choose  to  raise  against 
it.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the 
argument  when  exhausted  has  not  added 
one  particle  to  the  antecedent  conviction 
of  the  truth.  If  in  the  intellect  of  man  can 
be  traced  any  part  of  that  natural  image  of 
God  in  which  he  was  created,  it  should  be 
expected  spontaneously  to  recognize  the 
Divine  existence  as  soon  as  disclosed  to  it. 
Those  who  have  ascended  the  river  Sague- 
nay  in  Canada,  will  easily  recall  the  three 
mountains,  known  as  "the  Trinity,"  situ- 
ated in  a  little  bay  ;  and  as  the  steamer 
swings  into  position  between  them  a  pistol 
shot  is  echoed  and  re-echoed  in  a  thousand 
reverberations,  dying  away  at  last  in  the 
dimness  of  the  distance.  It  needed  but  the 
configuration  of  these  mountains  relatively 
to  each  other,  to  awake  these  echoes  ;  and 
the  echoes  needed  only  the  original  sound 
to  call  them  forth.  This  spontaneous  recog- 
nition of  the  Creator  is  but  the  mind's  echo 
to  the  truth  which  calls  it  forth.   If  in  right 


2l6     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

position  between  the  human  understanding 
and  conscience  and  heart,  a  voice  pro- 
claims the  name  of  God,  Jehovah,  a  thou- 
sand echoes  will  repeat  the  sacred  name, 
as  from  hill  to  hill,  until  they  are  blended 
and  lost  in  a  perfect  but  silent  acquies- 
ence. 

Find  another  illustration  in  the  obligation 
of  obedience  to  the  Divine  law,  instantly 
recognized  by  the  conscience  ;  and  the 
sense  of  justice  responding  to  the  penalty 
as  its  necessary  sanction.  Strange  contra- 
dictions meet  in  man's  experience  as  a  sin- 
ner before  God.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
will  is  ever  prompting  to  the  utmost  de- 
gree of  self-assertion  ;  and  the  creature 
would  fain  seek  to  be  the  arbiter  of  his 
own  destiny.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is 
constrained  to  bow,  often  with  a  reluctant 
homage,  to  an  authority  higher  than  him- 
self. Jehovah  commands  ;  and  conscience, 
as  the  organ  of  law,  binds  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience upon  the  recalcitrant  will.  Were 
it  not  for  this  instinctive  recognition  of  the 
Divine  supremacy,  it  is  hard  to  see  how 
submission  to  human  authority  could  be 
secured.  The  force  which  would  be  re- 
quired to  compel  obedience,  would  utterly 
destroy  every  noble  quality  of  man's  nature; 
rendering  him  an  automaton  rather  than  a 


THE  SCRIPTURES,   OUR  RULE.  217 

free  and  loving  subject.  The  illustration 
is  even  stronger  with  the  response  of  the 
human  conscience  to  the  necessity  of  pun- 
ishment, in  case  of  transgression.  With 
all  the  sinner's  recoil  from  the  doctrine  of 
a  future  judgment  and  the  final  banishment 
of  the  wicked  from  the  presence  of  a  holy 
God,  the  conscience  of  the  race  has  never 
been  able  to  thrust  it  aside.  Man  must 
reflect,  however  dimly,  the  image  of  his 
Maker  in  which  he  was  fashioned  from  the 
beginning;  and  the  sense  of  justice  in  him 
must  respond  to  the  justice  that  is  infinite 
in  the  Lawgiver. 

More  mysterious  still  is  the  ineradicable 
persuasion  of  God's  conversableness  even 
with  those  whom  His  justice  condemns. 
Reason  may  not  explain  the  consistency 
of  the  two  ;  but  there  would  not  be  the 
possibility  of  hope  in  the  sinner's  breast 
without  the  deep  underlying  conviction 
that  the  Divine  Being  may  be  propitiated. 
The  whole  doctrine  of  the  Atonement 
grounds  upon  this  necessary  enforcement 
of  the  penalty  in  case  of  transgression  ; 
but  the  revelation  of  it  to  the  sinner  would 
be  ineffective,  if  there  were  no  antecedent 
persuasion  of  the  possibility  of  reconcilia- 
tion with  the  offended  Lawgiver.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  the  truth 


2l8  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

of  Christianity,  that  with  all  the  mysterious- 
ness  of  its  doctrines,  utterly  incomprehen- 
sible to  human  reason,  they  find  points  of 
attachment  in  the  deep  seated  convictions 
of  the  soul,  where  they  secure  a  firm  lodg- 
ment. A  book  which  obtains  such  ready 
access  to  the  heart  and  conscience,  with 
the  vast  array  of  truth  which  it  delivers  to 
man,  may  surely  be  commended  as  the 
sufficient  guide  of  his  life. 

V.  The  Bible  reveals  truth  to  man  in 
every  condition  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  is 
therefore  capable  of  immediate  verification. 
It  has  a  word  of  blessing  for  those  who 
are  happy,  pointing  to  the  "Father  of 
lights  from  whom  cometh  every  good  and 
perfect  gift. "  It  has  a  word  of  comfort 
for  those  who  are  in    sorrow,    and   shows 

how — 

«•  The  broken  heart 
May,  like  the  plants  that  throw 
Their  fragrance  from  the  wounded  part, 
Breath  sweetness  out  of  woe." 

It  explains  the  discipline  of  life,  and  how 
every  trial  may  be  overruled  for  spiritual 
good.  A  promise  stands  against  every 
trouble  ;  which  we  have  only  to  accept, 
and  thus  verify  its  truth  in  our  own  expe- 
rience.     The  challenge  of  Scripture  is  on 


THE    SCRIPTURES,     OUR    RULE.  2IO, 

every  page  :  "  O  taste  and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good  ;  blessed  is  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  Him."  What  can  be  more  fair 
than  this  ?  The  Book  that  proposes  to 
guide  men  to  eternal  life,  offers  itself  to 
the  test  of  immediate  and  practical  expe- 
rience to  be  accepted  or  rejected,  as  its 
fidelity  is  established  or  overthrown.  In 
all  cases  in  which  the  test  has  been  fully 
made,  the  conclusion  finds  expression  in 
the  words  of  the  Apostle,  "Wherefore, 
we  receiving  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be 
moved,  let  us  have  grace  whereby  we  may 
serve  God  acceptably  with  reverence  and 
godly  fear." 

VI.  The  Bible  bears  the  seal  of  Divinity 
upon  it,  since  it  is  God  Himself  who  is  be- 
hind the  word.  In  saying  this,  I  do  not 
propose  to  discuss  the  great  doctrine  of 
the  plenary  Inspiration  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures. What  I  allege  is,  that  the  power  of 
Divine  truth  depends  upon  the  fact  that 
Jehovah,  in  His  awful  personality,  is  be- 
hind every  utterance.  If,  for  example,  an 
orator  sways  an  assembly,  it  is  because  he 
stands  with  his  truly  magnetic  power  be- 
hind all  that  he  says.  Another  may  use 
the  same  words  without  producing  the 
same    effect,    because   it   is   not  the  orator 


220     FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

who  is  flashing  the  emotions  of  his  own 
heart  upon  those  who  listen.  It  is,  at 
last,  the  individuality  of  the  speaker  that 
gives  force  to  the  words  which  fall  from 
his  lips.  Similar  illustrations  suggest  them- 
selves in  all  the  departments  of  life.  The 
word  issuing  from  the  throne  is  a  word  of 
power,  because  it  is  the  King  who  speaks 
it.  It  is  the  General,  dressed  with  the 
symbols  of  military  authority,  who  gives 
value  to  the  order  which  he  issues.  It  is 
the  authority  of  the  Judge  upon  the  Bench, 
lying  behind  his  decision,  which  gives  it 
the  force  of  law.  The  words  of  the  Bible 
are  words  which  can  never  fall  to  the 
ground,  because  God  Himself,  in  His 
threefold  subsistence,  is  behind  them  to 
give  them  power.  Hence  it  is  declared  : 
"So  shall  my  word  be  that  goeth  out  of 
my  mouth  ;  it  shall  not  return  unto  me 
void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I 
please"  (Isaiah  lv.  11).  Again,  "The 
word  of  God  is  not  bound  "  (2  Tim.  ii.  9). 
And  again,  "The  word  of  the  Lord  en- 
dureth  forever"  (1  Peter  i.  25).  If,  then, 
the  truth  of  the  Scriptures  can  be  put  to 
the  test  by  Him  who  receives  it,  know 
well  that  every  declaration  in  it  will  be 
verified  by  Him  who  delivers  it  A  book 
is  not  to  be  undervalued  as    the   guide  of 


THE    SCRIPTURES,    OUR    RULE.  22  1 

human  conduct  which  will  be  thus   finally 
authenticated  by  its  Divine  author. 

In  urging  you,  my  young  friends,  to  ac- 
cept these  holy  writings  as  the  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  I  must  remind  you  that  you 
must  come  into  living  contact  with  their 
teachings,  in  order  to  any  profit  from  them. 
Until  the  words  enter  into  the  mind  and 
heart,  they  bear  no  fruit.  Just  as  the  seed 
germinates  only  when  placed  in  the  soil, 
and  feels  the  influence  of  the  moisture  and 
the  sun  ;  so  the  truth  floating  in  the  air,  or 
hid  in  the  sacred  text,  -is  fruitless  until  it 
is  laid  upon  the  conscience  and  the  heart. 
Thus  alone  can  the  Bible  become  "a 
lamp  unto  your  feet  and  a  light  unto  your 
path."  "  Wherewith  shall  a  young  man 
cleanse  his  way  ?  By  taking  heed  thereto 
according  to  Thy  word."  The  condition 
is  imperative  :  only  by  bringing  his  way 
into  harmony  with  the  Divine  precepts, 
can  he  walk  safely  amid  the  temptations  of 
a  sinful  world.  But  if  the  light  of  this 
word  shine  directly  upon  his  path,  he  will 
march  with  the  firm  tread  of  a  conqueror 
amidst  all  the  snares  of  Satan,  and  win  the 
prize  of  heavenly  joy.  The  promfse  of 
Divine  aid  is  given  to  all  who  use  this 
word  aright ;  and  this  renders  the  result 
certain.      Not  only  does  the  light  direct  in 


222  FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER. 

the  way  of  safety,  but  the  grace  to 
strengthen  in  every  duty  and  in  every  trial 
is  assured.  The  weakest  shall  triumph,  if 
they  draw  with  confidence  upon  the  re- 
sources of  the  Almighty.  To  each  young 
man  in  this  assembly  I  address  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Prophet :  ' '  Wilt  thou  not  from 
this  time  cry  unto  me,  My  Father,  thou 
art  the  guide  of  my  youth  ?  " 

"  His  hand  the  good  man  fastens  on  the  skies, 
And  bids  earth  roll  nor  heeds  its  idle  whirl." 


348 


Bf                        DATE  DUE 

...     .  .    . ., 

DEMCO  36-297 

^->(^ao 

\si  .&35P2ftVv 

*-t& 

£ 

^ 

^, 

5p£- 

5* 

£ 

<* 

sfe 

**> 

i 

^        ^        ^ 

8*             ^              Q- 

5           «* 

$"             1               |- 

Ha              ^ 

m 

^ 

o        o 

\2\              £*• 

•                £* 

| 

5 

, 

:i 

<m 

«, 

/^«#ar^-r«4r  -W^l^.-iX  V"H? 


•inceton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01027  6212 


